Red Gold
by bets2010
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy would have been an outcast at Hogwarts. Not many are willing to look past his family name. What happens when he meets the one girl who can - and she happens to be the daughter of her father's former enemy?
1. Chapter 1

AN: OK I know I haven't finished Lily! yet but I just got inspired to write this by all the awesome LilyxScorpius fics out there- they're officially my new favorite next generation pairing (Lily/Teddy is my second favorite, of course). Enjoy and please r/r… I like reviews!

_Scorpius Malfoy was clinging on to his mother's hand at platform 9 ¾. He didn't want to go to Hogwarts. He knew what the other kids thought of him – even the adults in Diagon Alley would glare at him as he ran around trying to get fitted for his robes, buying his wand and books. They all knew him as the "Death Eater's grandson". A tall red haired boy had even spat at him when he walked past. Goyle was in fourth year – and to be honest, Scorpius didn't feel too comfortable spending time with him. Hearing him go on and on about mudbloods and blood traitors upset Scorpius – his mother had always told him to judge people based on their actions, not who their parents were. Unfortunately, it looked as if Scorpius wasn't going to be given that luxury. His eyes were downcast as he heard a red haired man tell his daughter to make sure she beat him in every test at school; it looked like he was making enemies before he even got on the train. And when his parents left him with Goyle, he decided to slip away. He would find his way back to Malfoy Manor. Somehow. _

_Turning around, he found himself face to face with a little girl with big hazel eyes framed with thick lashes. Her red gold hair was in two neat pigtails, and she looked to be close to his age. To Scorpius' surprise, she looked at him and smiled, a dimple appearing in her left cheek._

"_Hello! Lost your parents? Who are they? Maybe I know them. I know where mine are – they could help you find them. Or are you getting on the train? Are you a first year? My brother's a first year- What's your name anyway?"_

_Scorpius sighed. This chatty little girl would probably run away when she found out who she was – unless she was like Goyle, in which case Scorpius wasn't sure if he cared to befriend her. Holding out a hand, twisting his lips in a bitter smile, Scorpius responded, ' Scorpius Malfoy'_

_A look of recognition flashed across her features, but instead of running away, the little girl in front of him just smiled wider. "I'm Lily. Why do you look so sad? Are you scared to leave your mommy and daddy?"_

_Scorpius frowned. She didn't sound as if she was making fun of him. She looked… concerned._

"_If you're a first year, don't be scared of the sorting. My daddy told my brother even if he's sorted into Slytherin, he can still be a good person. He says one of the bravest men he knew was from Slytherin."_

_So her brother was afraid to go to Slytherin – that meant she was probably from one of those Gryffindor families. And yet – she was telling him not to be scared, and that he wouldn't be judged based on his house. Interesting. _

'_Are you going to be at Hogwarts too?' Scorpius was hopeful. If this girl was at Hogwarts, he would probably have at least one friend. _

_The girl in front of him pouted, looking slightly sulky. _

"_I have to go NEXT year. Even though I probably know more charms than BOTH my brothers."_

'_Oh…' _

"_LILY.. WHERE DID YOU GET TO? YOU HAVEN'T SAID GOODBYE TO YOUR BROTHERS" a panicky woman's voice startled the two children who had just been looking at each other in silence. _

"_Oops… I have to go. I'll tell my brother to look out for you on the train" Lily leaned forward and gave him a friendly peck on the cheek as she turned and flew in the direction of the voice, leaving Scorpius touching his cheek, slightly dazed._

AN: I know it's short, but it's just a prologue! I'll probably post another chapter or two soon – and this is going to be a looong fic, so I do appreciate lots of feedback as I go along.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oi Scorpius – hurry up, will you? James, Rose and Frank already left without us and if I'm not on this train, Mum'll do her nut!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and tightened his red and gold tie. He'd stopped questioning his friends' bordering on irrational fear of their mother when he heard the howler James had received on the first week for pranking the Gryffindor girls. His own parents never sent howlers – even when he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, his mother had actually _congratulated _him. His grandfather had been cold and sarcastic over Christmas, while his father was just quiet. But they never sent _howlers_.

Scorpius looked back at the messy dorm he shared with Albus Potter, Jake Thomas and Mike Finnigan. He was going to miss this place for the next three months – Scorpius couldn't believe he had been afraid of making friends. Within minutes of boarding the train, Albus Potter had sat down in his compartment, talking about sorting, the subjects they would be taking and how to figure out a way to join the Quidditch team as first years. His brother James and Frank Longbottom had joined them soon after, with Rose Weasley trailing after them. Trailing after Frank, to be precise. Scorpius hadn't managed to spot the brother of the little girl who had been nice to him on the platform. The only boy in his year with red hair was Mike Finnigan, and he claimed he didn't have a sister. Anyway his hair was too – red. It wasn't red and _gold_ like Lily's. And he looked nothing like her. Albus and James had a sister, but Scorpius imagined her having black hair, with either brown or green eyes. Anyway, Scorpius was going to meet her when she started school next year. Along with (and he couldn't help smiling slightly at the thought of this) Lily.

Scorpius Malfoy barely made it onto the Hogwarts Express before it pulled out of King's Cross. First of all, his father had taken him broom shopping (ok he didn't mind that one, he did want to try out for Chaser in a years' time and Albus had gotten a new broom for Christmas too). Then his mother had decided to go all _girly_ on him, hugging him and going on about how her son was practically a teenager now, and time went by so fast, and soon he'd be graduating Hogwarts and moving out to live with some girl. By the time he found James and Albus, they had been sitting in their usual compartment for half an hour, along with Frank and a first year with brown curly hair.

"Is this your sister?" Scorpius looked doubtful. The first year in front of him looked like a boy. Although he kind of looked like Rose. A little. He wouldn't put it past the Potters to abduct some random first year boy and swear up and down he was a girl, just to confuse Scorpius.

James, Albus and Frank roared while the little boy in front of him drew himself up to his full height and looked indignant.

'I'm Hugo Weasley. Rose's _brother_.'

"Oh… sorry mate"

'Apparently the littlest Potter has grabbed my sister and Rose and dragged them to the next compartment for _official girl business_' Frank Longbottom rolled his eyes. Lily Luna Potter had a way of dramatizing everything sometimes.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" A childish but authoritative voice caused Albus and James to sit up in shock.

Scorpius followed his friends as they dashed to the next compartment, wands in hand. He stopped short when he saw the first year with a red gold ponytail brandishing her wand at Vincent Crabbe II and Tom Goyle, both extremely burly fifth years, while Rose and another eleven year old tried to hold her back.

In an instant, James and Albus had materialized in front of the two boys, glaring murderously.

"Are you picking on our little sister?" James Sirius Potter, with his Beater's build cut a pretty intimidating figure when he was angry. And everyone knew how good Albus was at dueling.

Scorpius could see Crabbe and Goyle visibly gulp as he, Frank and Hugo moved to join the Potter boys, glaring, wands ready.

'We… ah… she didn't tell us she was your sister, Potter!' Crabbe was starting to sweat, images of the great Harry Potter apparating onto the train and cursing them into the next century for bullying his daughter. Honestly, the chocolate frog money they had been trying to extort just wasn't worth it.

'No harm intended, guys… just having a bit of fun' Goyle managed a weak smile, while casting a pleading look at Scorpius. 'We're sorry, right girls?'

Lily just glared as Crabbe and Goyle beat a hasty retreat to the next cabin, stopping only to cast one look of pure loathing at the group. One day, they would get their revenge. Little first year thinking she could actually duel with _them_.

As the Slytherin pair left, James and Albus rounded on Lily, waving their wands in frustration as they attempted to scold her.

'Bloody hell, Lils… did you have to go and pick a fight with those two Neanderthals on your first day?'

"If Al and I hadn't been here, what would you have done?"

'I could have taken them'

Scorpius couldn't help but smile at this – there was no doubting where this girl was going to be sorted. She was a Gryffindor through and through. Once he got over the shock that the little girl he'd met the previous year was actually his best mates' sister, he had to admit he could see a certain family resemblance. She was as… confident as her brothers, anyway.

"They called me a mudblood's daughter" Rose's quiet voice broke the silence, as James and Albus narrowed their eyes. Hugo looked like he was about ready to march out of the compartment, track down Crabbe and Goyle, and curse them, while Frank, for some reason, looked angrier than all three boys put together.

Lily and the other little girl, however, put their arms around Rose and attempted to comfort her.

'Come on Rosie… you know they're just jealous because you topped the class last year and they're still struggling with first year potions.'

Scorpius couldn't help but smirk at this. The fact that Crabbe and Goyle _had_ been at the bottom of their class every year since they got into Hogwarts made Lily's little statement even funnier. Even Rose and Hugo were starting to crack smiles.

"And how did you know they were failing?"

'Please… no one could look that thick and _pass_.'


	3. Chapter 3

Lily Luna Potter was pissed. Off. Just because her brother was a bloody fourth year, he thought he could do whatever he wanted. How _dare_ he tell her and Hannah they had to prove themselves before they could be Marauders? According to Albus, he and Scorpius had had to prank the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team before they were considered "worthy" the previous year. And Nott was bigger than both of them put together! Rose had decided it wasn't worth the aggravation- she'd rather study anyway. Lily, on the other hand, was determined – if there was one thing her brothers should know about her, it was this: the more anyone told her not to do something, the more determined she was to get it.

Meanwhile, Albus and Scorpius were trying to plead with James on Lily's behalf.

"Come on, man… it's _our Lils_… she shouldn't have to do anything to become a Marauder. You didn't have to"

'There are certain perks to being the first in the family to enter Hogwarts.' James twirled his wand lazily, ignoring the baleful glares of his brother and his best friend.

'Did you have to make it so difficult for her?' Scorpius felt a pang as he remembered the look of disappointment on the little girls face as she was unceremoniously told by her brother that she couldn't participate in their beginning of the year prank until she had outdone Scorpius and Albus' hexing of Nott's robes the previous year. Nott had been stuck in lavender school robes for a month before the spell wore off, AND he had threatened to beat up whoever was involved. Didn't James _care_ that she could get hurt?

"Scorpius… what was my sister doing when you first met her?"

'Er… fighting with two boys three times her size?' Scorpius blushed slightly. Albus may have been his best friend, but he wasn't going to tell James about how a ten year old had cheered him up when he was afraid of going to Hogwarts. He might as well make a big neon sign saying "SCORPIUS IS A LOSER" and display it in the centre of the Great Hall. It would be less embarrassing. He did notice, however, that Albus was giving him an odd look. James, however, didn't seem to notice and carried on with his pompous speech.

"Exactly. My sister is _gifted_. She won't get caught. And I'm only encouraging her to reach her prank potential. I am helping her. I am giving her a _challenge_."

Albus rolled his eyes at his brother's enraptured expression. How was it possible that James was two years older than him, and _he_ was the mature one?

'Whatever, mate. It's your funeral'

Scorpius smirked as he saw the fourth year's eyes widen slightly. Something told him Lily Luna Potter was not one to be trifled with.

Scorpius' eyes snapped open at midnight that night. There was someone in their dorm. He glanced at his dorm mates – Albus, Mike and Jake were pretty much dead to the world. Mike was even snoring. Loudly. He was about to go back to sleep when he heard a _bump_ followed by a "bugger" in a small, feminine voice.

Cracking an eye open, he glimpsed a red-gold mop on top of a small figure in pink pajamas. It (she?) seemed to be rummaging through Albus' trunk, letting out a soft "aha!" when she found whatever she was looking for. He let out a soft laugh – that little girl was so cute, covering his hand with his mouth when he saw her tense slightly. He lay quietly for a few moments, wondering what she was after, and what she was going to with whatever it was.

Keeping very still, with his eyes half closed in pretend repose, Scorpius could have sworn she _winked_ at him on her way out.

The next morning, Scorpius was watching Lily Potter as she lounged in the common room and chatted with Hannah, Rose, Lorcan and Lysander, first year twins whose mother had gone to school with their parents. She didn't seem jumpy and excited, the way he had been when he and Albus had pulled his first prank. He was starting to wonder if he had imagined the previous night. He could have been dreaming – although he didn't think a dream of his would be that _boring_.

Albus' shout of laughter snapped him out of his reverie. The students lounging around the common room looked like they were having a hard time controlling their smiles as an irate James Sirius Potter stormed down the stairs, followed by Frank Longbottom, who could barely stand from laughing.

'Yes, James?' Lily blinked up at him with her most innocent expression, flashing her dimple for good measure. Albus groaned, "watch – in a minute he's going to smile at her." True enough, James' irate expression soon softened, and his lips curled into a half smile.

"You got me, little sis. You're probably going to be the best marauder of all of us. Now can you please change it back?"

At his last words, the entire Gryffindor common room burst out laughing. Lily had apparently cast an enlargement charm on her brother's rear end in the middle of the night.

'Did you like the song, at least?' Lily was still blinking up at her brother as Frank doubled over again, shaking with laughter.

"What song?" Rose was slightly concerned – Frank Longbottom looked like he was about to pass out.

Lily Luna Potter smiled and flicked her wand at her brother, whose now gargantuan backside started to shake and rap.

_I like big butts and I cannot lie,_

_You other brothers can't deny_

_When a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist_

_And a round thing in your face_

_You get sprung_

_Wanna pull up tough_

_Cause you noticed that butt was stuffed_

_Deep in the jeans she's wearing_

_I'm hooked and I can't stop staring_

Scorpius and Albus were sprawled on the couch, helpless with laughter as Lily stood up, pulled Hannah, Lorcan and Lysander up with her and started to sing

_So fellas, (Yeah) fellas (yeah)_

_Has your girlfriend got the butt?_

By this time, Scorpius, Frank and Albus had recovered enough to chorus,

_Hell yeah!_

_Tell her shake it, shake it_

By this time, James had started to get into it, and had started shaking his butt vigorously.

_Shake that healthy butt._

_Baby got back!_

Lily struck a pose at the last line of the song before finally picking up her wand and shrinking her brother's backside back to its normal size.

"S-she stole our alarm clock and we woke up to that- thing _singing_"

"AND she nicked the invisibility cloak" James whispered with a slight scowl.

Shaking their heads, all the non Potter/Weasleys in the common room that day came to one conclusion: Never get on Lily Potter's bad side.

AN: The song is "Baby got back" by Sir Mix a Lot. I didn't use the whole song, but did include the bits that would be funniest. I have a thing with musical pranks ;) r/r!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: This chapter takes place in Scorpius' third year. I'm going to try to include a bit more of Lily's POV in this. Also, I might be including a few more pairings… Let me know what you think ;)

Lily Potter narrowed her eyes. Her brothers and Scorpius had been bragging all week about how _they_ were going to Hogsmeade that weekend. They were going to stock up on supplies at Zonko's and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (like Uncle George wasn't going to owl her a free package of his _best_ stuff and newest inventions anyway) and _Honeydukes_. It wasn't fair. Did any of _them_ like chocolate as much as she did? No. So how come _she_ was stuck sitting in her second year dorm, sulking, while _everyone else_ got to go to Hogsmeade. OK, Hannah, Lorcan, Lysander and Hugo were in the dorm too, she supposed. And Lucy and Roxanne were playing somewhere with the other first years in the Ravenclaw dorm. But still!

Lily sighed as she buried her head under her pillow, ignoring Hannah's pleas to _come downstairs_. She was supposed to be in Hogsmeade, trying to lure her brother and Scorpius away so that Rose could be alone with Frank. Now Rose was alone with the boys! And James' date – but she wasn't very friendly. And Albus and Scorpius were the two thickest gits on the planet. No way they would be able to figure out that Rose liked Frank, so they would clearly not be any help. Unless…

Hannah was surprised, and a little wary when Lily emerged from under her pillow, the familiar Potter smirk on her lips. Hannah knew that smirk. It only surfaced whenever one of the Potter siblings were up to No Good. Knowing Lily, she was probably on some kind of revenge mission. Hopefully James would bear the brunt of most of it – Hannah didn't like the thought of Albus being on the receiving end of one of Lily Potter's pranks. She thought back to first year, when Lily had charmed pumpkins to follow Ethan Rosier and John Zambini around the school all day, shouting rude remarks at particularly strict teachers in the boys' voices. Hannah didn't think Albus Potter deserved a month's detention for teasing his little sister.

Lily Potter was rummaging through her brother's trunk, while Hugo kept watch. Hannah seemed fascinated to be in Albus' dorm, and was more interested in poking through his belongings than actually _helping_. Lysander Scamander, however, had proved a very useful friend to have. She'd never have managed to sneak into the boys dorm to steal Albus' charms book the year before without him. And now he was helping her get her hands on the family heirloom she'd been trying to get her hands on since she'd started at Hogwarts. The Marauder's Map.

Lily was fairly sure Frank didn't know about it. He wasn't a Marauder, and had never seemed interested in James' prank ideas. She wasn't too sure about Scorpius, though. On one hand, James had been insistent that the Marauder's Map be a secret only known to the Potter/Weasley family. On the other hand, Albus treated Scorpius like another brother. He'd even been invited to stay at the Potters for a month over the summer, much to Uncle Ron's displeasure, and her father's slight discomfort. She had had to sit them down and give them a good talking to about prejudice and discrimination. Lily snickered to herself. If he didn't know about the map, he'd probably have a heart attack when he saw them at Honeydukes. And the Three Broomsticks. Lily was not going to be the last one in her family to try Butterbeer.

Scorpius loved Hogsmeade. It was a quaint village with friendly people who didn't seem to care that he was a Malfoy. Frank Longbottom had been taking Albus, Rose and himself all around Hogsmeade, showing them the Shrieking Shack (where they had heard some shrieking of a slightly disturbing variety), Zonko's and of course Honeydukes. He couldn't help but feel their little group was too _quiet_, though. There was usually someone chattering nineteen to the dozen , coming up with very thinly veiled attempts to leave Rose alone with Frank and trying to persuade the others to follow James around on his date. Even Albus had mentioned a few times that it was a pity Hannah, Hugo and Lily couldn't be there. Maybe some butterbeers would cheer them up – James had threatened to hex them if they set foot in the Three Broomsticks before 5, but it was almost six now. And there were four of them.

Rose was positively miserable as they trudged into the Three Broomsticks. Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy could not take a bloody hint. When Frank had offered to buy her a chocolate frog at Honeydukes, Albus had actually thumped him on the back and said, 'No need mate, she remembered to bring money. And if she didn't it's on me.' And when she asked Frank if he wanted to grab a butterbeer, knowing that James had banned Albus and Scorpius from the Three Broomsticks, Scorpius Malfoy had actually perked up and said, "Fantastic! It's almost six, so James can't get mad at us. I'm dying to try one myself." Gits. She was starting to get more and more annoyed with her cousin, and boys in general. She was wishing there were some girls around to catch her eye and accompany her to the bathroom for some much needed venting, when she caught sight of an angel sitting in a booth at the pub. An angel with red gold hair.

Scorpius gaped. He rubbed his eyes and stared again. Lily Potter was sitting right in the middle of the Three Broomsticks with Hannah Longbottom, Hugo Weasley and the Scamander twins. When she caught sight of her brother and his friends, she had the gall to raise her glass to them and _wink_. Albus and Frank didn't seem amused, marching over to lecture their sisters about underage drinking. Never mind that Albus was only a year older than the girls, and had intended to get a drink himself. Scorpius was just wondering how she managed to get out of the castle in the first place. Rose, on the other hand, had practically ran to the table, dragging Lily and Hannah to the ladies room shouting, "Thank Merlin" over and over.

'Huh… you think she'd have enjoyed Frank's tour.'

"Probably a girl thing…"

'Maybe she just really _really_ had to go.'


	5. Chapter 5

Lily Potter was sitting on the sidelines, glumly watching her brothers and Scorpius as they whizzed around the quidditch pitch. She wasn't going to be allowed to try out until next year. James wouldn't even make an exception for _her_ and she was his baby sister. Even the puppy eyes didn't work.

It, of course, didn't help that quidditch had raised her brother and Scorpius' profile tremendously among the female population of Hogwarts. And James had always been a ladies man. The last Gryffindor game had seen legions of fans wearing t-shirts with slogans like, "Potty for Potter" and "Manic over Malfoy". And Lily had _not_ been happy on Valentines day, when her classmates had turned her into a bloody post-owl, delivering cards to Albus, James and Scorpius.

She supposed James was good looking. He and Albus looked almost exactly like their father. Well, James had brown eyes, and Albus didn't wear glasses. They were both tall and fit from quidditch. Scorp wasn't bad looking himself. He was about the same height as Albus, but thinner. His shaggy blond hair shone when he flew across the pitch, and there was something in his dark grey eyes that had intrigued her years ago.

She sometimes wondered if he recognized her. He had seemed so sad and lost at the platform – Lily hadn't been able to help going up to him. Her mother had always told her that she had a gift; that no one could stay upset around her. So, she had summoned her future Gryffindor courage and decided to walk up to him and talk to him.

Thinking back to Valentines day again, Lily sighed. She had gotten a few cards from some of the Gryffindor first years, and Lysander had given her a box of chocolates. Nothing like the attention her brothers and Scorpius had, though. Blokes had it so easy – they just had to play quidditch, and girls came running. She tugged at her ponytail absently. Maybe Victoire was right when she nagged Lily about "wasting her potential". Apparently boys didn't notice you if you were just one of the guys.

Scorpius Malfoy was bored. He'd been sitting at the Three Broomsticks, listening to Lila Wood jabber about quidditch for an hour. He liked quidditch, but if he heard the words "Puddlemore United" one more time, he was going to impale himself with a fork. She'd have been better off with someone like James Potter. She was pretty, he supposed, with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. And she was a fifth year – dating a girl who was a year older was always good for a teenaged boy's ego.

'And then my dad told me he'd let me train with _Puddlemore United_ this summer!'

Scorpius groaned. His only consolation was that Albus seemed to be having an equally miserable time. Marissa Creevey was sitting across from him and wouldn't say a word without giggling. He didn't know how they had let James bully them into asking random girls to Hogsmeade that weekend. Although James had looked slightly put out when he heard that Lila was going to be Scorpius' date.

Scorpius frowned. Dates were supposed to be _fun_. James certainly waxed lyrical about his "snogfests". So far, all of Scorpius' dates had been unmitigated disasters. Aside from Lila, he'd taken out one Hufflepuff who called herself _Honey_ and attached "like" to every other word that came out of her mouth and Elpheba Flint, a Slytherin who had stuck up her nose at EVERYTHING at the Yule ball, and looked at him like he was trying to poison her when he'd offered her a piece of cake. He caught Albus looking longingly at Hannah, Hugo and the Scamander twins and sighed.

It was pretty evident not all girls were crazy. Rose Weasley was fairly normal, although she could be a little hard to take at times with her bookish habits and slightly prissy attitude about rules. Hannah was sweet, and he could spend hours talking to Lily Potter about quidditch, muggle football, the differences between wizard and muggle music, veela, the Second Wizarding War, his family, pranks. After the Yule ball, Lily had charmed him out of his foul mood by insisting on sitting down with him until 3am brainstorming creative ways to prank Elpheba. So it couldn't be that he was hard to please. The girls he was going out with just didn't seem to _get_ him.

Scorpius was surprised when a familiar redhead burst into the room, a panicked look in her eyes. She ran straight to Albus' table, grabbed her brother's arm, and spoke, trembling, "Al – there's been an accident. We have to go back to the castle. It's important. It's – " Scorpius rose from his seat in concern when Lily covered her face with her hands and started to shake, as if she was sobbing vigorously. Muttering an excuse to Lila Wood, he followed his best friend out of Hogsmeade, his arm wrapped protectively around Lily Potter's shoulder.

"OK, Al, that'll be three Galleons" Scorpius was shocked at her instantaneous recovery once they reached the Gryffindor common room.

'I thought we'd agreed on one?'

"Hey, I had to stay in the castle while the others left for Hogsmeade this time. I _sacrificed my Honeydukes fix_. I'd say that's worth at least three." Lily Potter looked petulant as her brother grumbled about little pirates and dug into his pocket for change.

'How come Scorp doesn't have to pay?'

A faint blush tinged Lily's cheeks as she realized Scorpius still had his arm around her shoulders. Scorpius quickly dropped his arm as Lily responded, undaunted.

"He wasn't in on our _little rescue mission_. Next time Malfoy, it's going to cost you."

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was dumbfounded as his best friend's sister tossed her red gold ponytail and winked, heading up to the Gryffindor girl's dorm. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched her leave, and he couldn't help but notice that Lily Luna Potter was extremely pretty when she blushed.

AN: OK I have no idea how this is going – is it too fluffy? And do you guys want me to emphasise more on some of the other pairings? Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Scorpius was scowling at his plate. He really had no reason to be in such a bad mood. He was at the Easter ball, and his date for the evening was relatively normal (for once). Particia Corner was smart (of course, she was from Ravenclaw), played quidditch (but wasn't obsessive about it) and pretty. He wasn't paying her too much attention, though. He was too fuming at the absent Jake Thomas.

How _could_ he even _think_ about asking Lily to the Easter ball? She was only thirteen; the ball was for fourth years and up! That was why Albus hadn't wanted to ask Hannah! And Jake had the _nerve_ to ask her without without talking to him or Albus first!

_Flashback:_

_Scorpius was attempting to read a quidditch magazine in his dorm. Mike and Jake were bored, and were trying to engage Scorpius in a conversation about hot girls while Albus was off tutoring Hannah in transfiguration._

"_Come on, mate. Everyone knows you've probably got at least three dates lined up for the Easter ball."_

'_Just one.'_

"_Who?" Scorpius hid a smile at his friends' eager faces. Lily had been right when she declared the night before that boys gossiped as much as girls, if not more._

'_Patty Corner'_

"_Ravenclaw seeker? Nice!"_

'_Yeah who knows, you might not run out on this one' _

_Scorpius glared as Jake Thomas chortled. _

"_And who are you going with, Thomas? Your cousin?"_

_Jake's sudden silence unnerved Scorpius. He had a funny feeling he wasn't going to like his answer._

'_Mate… you can't tell Al until I've had a chance to talk to him'_

_A sense of foreboding settled in the pit of his stomach as Scorpius nodded, his expression hardening._

'_I just asked Lily Potter to go with me'_

_And just like that, Scorpius had had to hold his wand arm down in an effort to control is sudden impulse to hex his friend. It was a long time before Scorpius was able to speak, with Mike and Jake exchanging worried glances. If Scorpius Malfoy was angry with Jake for asking Lily Potter to the ball, Merlin alone knew what James and Albus would do to him._

"_She's only thirteen, Thomas. Is she even allowed to go?" _

_Jake broke into a relieved smile. Malfoy was probably only worried about her getting into trouble._

'_I checked with Professor Longbottom. She can go as long as she's the date of a fourth year.'_

_Scorpius found himself getting annoyed at this. Didn't Professor Longbottom care about his friend's daughter? He wondered what he would have said if Jake had wanted to take Hannah to the ball._

"_She's too young to date, Thomas." Somehow, Scorpius couldn't refer to the boy in front of him as "mate" anymore._

'_She's only a year younger than us. Her cousin started dating Frank when she was her age'_

_Scorpius had paused at this. Frank Longbottom had been pretty nervous about asking Rose Weasley out on an official date the previous year. He'd gone around asking James, Albus and even Hugo if they minded before stammering out a request to take her to Hogsmeade that year. Jake Thomas had just blundered ahead and asked Lily. _

"_You didn't even think about asking me- I mean Al first?" _

_Jake had given him a funny look at this, and Mike's sudden stare made Scorpius suddenly uncomfortable. He was only unhappy because she was Albus' sister – right? That made him kind of like another brother to her. Although he didn't really like the thought of being her brother either._

"_I was going to talk to AL if she said yes. No point getting myself killed if the girl was going to say no anyway." Jake's tone had become decidedly unfriendly as he regarded is blond friend. Frustrated, Scorpius had thrown aside his quidditch magazine and stalked out of the room, looking for Lily._

Patricia Corner was annoyed. Why did Scorpius Malfoy ask her out if he planned on staring at the door all night? Now she knew what the girls meant when they said he was a lost cause. The only girl he seemed to give any attention to was the Potter girl. Speaking of which, she should have just focused her attention on Albus or James. At least _they_ seemed capable of _talking_ to their dates. Or responding when they talked. Or _not_ stabbing his food murderously with his knife every two seconds.

Albus Potter was also looking at his best friend with alarm. Scorpius had seemed angrier than James when he found out about Lily's date with Jake. And that was saying something. Albus wondered if his friend had feelings for his sister. The thought should have alarmed him, but the way things were with Hannah Longbottom, Albus found he couldn't blame him.

He had been tutoring Hannah in transfiguration all that year, and had found himself noticing little things about her. There was an earnestness in her round face that had always appealed to him. She didn't run around like a little whirlwind, and would listen patiently as Albus groaned about his dating disasters. She may not have been the top student in her year, but she was eager to learn and had inherited her father's talent for Herbology. She could even teach him a thing or two. She was growing up, and was extremely pretty when her dark ringlets framed her face. And she had always liked Albus as a person, not as the son of Harry Potter or as Gryffindor's star chaser. So Albus couldn't really fault Scorpius for fancying a third year, particularly the sister of a friend.

He wasn't sure how he felt about Jake Thomas asking his sister out, though. He had held back from asking Hannah because she was only thirteen, and there would be plenty of other dances for them to go to. He wanted to give her a chance to be a kid for awhile first. Hannah hadn't entirely understood, but she had been so happy when he told her he actually liked her, she'd been more than willing wait things out. Albus' mother had been in love with his father when she was eleven years old, but they hadn't started to date until she was in her fifth year.

Jake, on the other hand hadn't seemed to think the way he did. His rationale was that he liked her, and if he didn't ask her out now, someone else probably would. Albus hadn't been too pleased when Jake had told him, and James had been absolutely furious, but Lily had marched her brothers into the Gryffindor common room and told them in no uncertain terms that she was going to the ball, and if they even _tried_ to interfere she would never forgive them. Apparently Scorpius had found her and tried to talk her out of going with Jake, insisting that her brothers would be upset. Albus shook his head. Git. Didn't he _know_ by now that the one surefire way to make Lily want to do something was to tell her she couldn't do it?

Scorpius barely noticed as his date got up and sequestered Mike Finnigan for a dance. He was too busy replaying his conversation with Lily in his head.

"_Merlin Score it's not like I plan on snogging him or anything. It's just a ball, I really want to go and see what it's like. You know how left out I felt when you lot were going to the Yule Ball without me. You should be happy, anyway. Now I'll be around to entertain all of you when you get bored with your dates as usual."_

'_Lily, you CAN'T go with Jake' as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Scorpius had mentally kicked himself. He knew he had just said the one thing that would make the girl in front of him absolutely determined to go. As her hazel eyes flashed with defiance Scorpius sighed in defeat._

"_What's it to you, anyway?"_

_After several long moments of silence, Lily got up and walked out of the room, leaving Scorpius Malfoy silently pondering the answer to her question._


	7. Chapter 7

AN: OK I'm going to try an alternative pairing here – let me know which one you want me to continue with.

"Come on, Lils you've got to come out some time!"

'No I don't!'

"It'll wear off in a week. The ol' softie here refused to make the full strength version that would last a month"

'I'm SO grateful. In the meantime, Aunt Luna and the twins have already left for Hawaii and I don't suppose one of you lot are planning on apparating me there once I'm _back to normal_.'

Guilt twisted inside James, Albus and Scorpius as they camped outside Lily's room, occasionally pounding on the door, asking to be let in. James had been in favor of blasting her door open, but he had been restrained by his more level headed brother, correctly surmising that if they broke her door, Lily Potter would probably curse them beyond repair, law against underaged magic be damned. They had already been given a stern talking to by Harry and Ginny Potter, and were confined to the house for the next month. The fact that Lily hadn't come out of her room in the last 24 hours, not even to eat, however, was far more disturbing to the three teenagers.

Scorpius sighed, slipping another piece of parchment under her door with the words I'M SORRY written in bold letters. The look of hurt on her face when she had discovered the prank seemed to pierce him; she knew that he was the one who had brewed the potion. James and Albus weren't particularly skilled in that area. Inwardly, Scorpius cursed the jealousy that had led him to go along with the prank in the first place.

It had all started when he arrived at the Potter's mansion a month before the end of summer vacation. James, Albus, Lily and their parents had just returned from a trip to Bulgaria with the Weasleys to visit family friends.

Scorpius hadn't been able to form a coherent sentence for ten minutes after seeing Lily. She had grown up in the two months. She'd grown taller, and suddenly had _curves_, and had abandoned her trademark ponytail in favor of loose, red gold waves framing her face and cascading down her back. He'd had _unusual_ feelings around her ever since the Easter ball, where he had seen her for the first time in a dress, with her hair pinned up, but this was something else entirely. She wasn't a little kid anymore, and she was quite honestly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had a light tan, and was wearing shorts. If her brothers hadn't been around, Scorpius was sure he would have been ogling. And that was _not_ healthy.

_Flashback:_

"_Mate… FINALLY! Al and I were going crazy with all those girls. Now we have the majority, and can talk about quidditch instead of how amazing Vic is."_

_Scorpius had been surprised at this. Victoire Weasley had been tall, blonde and polished, but he didn't think her younger cousins idolized her that much. _

'_I don't think there's anything wrong with Lily looking up to Victoire.' Scorpius had been trying to defend Lily, and was surprised at the wide eyed look of indignation on her face, as Albus seemed to be choking back a laugh._

"_I'm talking about Victor Krum II. Merlin, even Rose was going on about how wonderful and how handsome and how good a flier Vic is… and she's with Frank"_

_Scorpius had had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Lily blushed and started to list all the girls James had mooned about over the years. He would have been amused if his head wasn't pounding so badly._

And then, of course, Lily had received an invitation to go to Hawaii with her Aunt Luna and the Scamander twins. From Lysander. And Lily had gone bikini shopping specially for the event – despite her brothers' protests and threats.

Scorpius hadn't liked the idea of Lily gallivanting around a beach with two teenaged boys, especially now that she looked like _that_. So naturally, when James brought up the idea of brewing a potion to dye her hair blue so she couldn't go, Scorpius had been on board with it, despite Albus' loud protests.

They had researched the prank carefully; it turned out potions didn't count as underaged magic outside of Hogwarts as there was no wandwork involved. Loophole in hand, Scorpius had carefully brewed the potion on the Potters' stove in the middle of the night, and James and Albus had smuggled it into her bathroom and dumped it in her shampoo bottle.

Lily's scream had been enough to put a damper on all their high fiving; her tears had made them feel downright guilty. The look of betrayal she shot at Scorpius as she ran up to her room was enough to make him want to Avada Kedavra himself. The boys had sat outside her room door all day, alternately coaxing (Albus), threatening (James) and apologizing (Scorpius), but the stubborn (former) redhead refused to emerge from her room. Even James and Albus had skipped dinner that night, declaring that if Lily wasn't eating, neither were they. Ginny Potter had apparated into her daughter's room to try to talk to her, and had come out shaking her head at the three boys. Harry, on the other hand, had apparated _out_ of the house, declaring he would be back soon with reinforcements.

When Harry Potter apparated into the house with 21 year old Teddy Lupin in tow, Albus and James finally began to smile. They knew that if anyone could get Lily out of the room, Teddy could. Scorpius was pleased to see his cousin, but was somewhat confused at his friends' amazing faith in Teddy's powers of persuasion. Nonetheless, Scorpius stood aside as Harry took the boys' place outside his daughter's door and called out to her.

"Lils… Teddy's here!"

A blue haired blur pushed past a very surprised Scorpius and jumped on his cousin, clinging to his neck and crying. Scorpius' heart swelled… he was happy she was finally out of her room, but hated the sight of her in tears. He also found himself thinking very dark thoughts towards his cousin as the little group made their way towards the dining room.

AN: I just _had_ to pay homage to my second favorite next generation pairing. What do you think? Should I keep this as Lily/Scorp, or would you like to see a little more Teddy/Lily as well? Let me know, and please r/r! :)


	8. Chapter 8

AN: A little bit of language here, that's why I rated this fic T. Scorpius is a 15 year old boy in this chapter, so I imagine he'd talk like one :P And thanks for the reviews guys! I'm dedicating this chapter to all of you **kisses**

Scorpius was scowling at his pillow. He found himself trying to remind himself that he _liked_ Teddy Lupin, that Teddy Lupin had gotten Lily out of her room and that cursing his cousin and Harry Potter's godson wasn't exactly the smartest thing he could do. That didn't stop him from sulking, however. It was simple; the more attention Lily gave Teddy, the more Scorpius felt like taking out his wand and hexing him into the next century. And Lily gave him a _lot_ of attention.

_Flashback:_

'_Teddy bear!' _

"_What's this I hear about you not leaving your room, Lilypad?" _

_Scorpius had wrinkled his nose at their nicknames. What was wrong with "Lils" and "Score" anyway? At least he didn't make anyone nauseous when he addressed her. He'd rolled his eyes at Albus, who gave him a tight smile in return._

'_Look at me..' _

_Lily had sounded so sad, Scorpius could feel the guilt weighing down his stomach again. He was just about to protest that she looked beautiful no matter what color hair she had (she did) when Teddy Lupin took the words right out of his mouth._

"_You look beautiful no matter what color hair you have, Lils" Teddy had smiled, while Scorpius muttered something about plagiarism. _

"_Besides, if you're lonely, I'll be glad to keep you company" and with a wink, Teddy Lupin had turned his own hair the exact same shade of blue as Lily's._

_Honestly, Teddy Lupin was such a show off. Just because he was a fucking metamorphagus didn't mean he had to act like some kind of hero in front of Lily. He was a ruddy pedophile anyway; Lily was seven years younger than him. Didn't he have a girl his age he could bother? Wait a minute – he did._

'_So, Ted… is Victoire in town with you?' Scorpius forced a light note into his tone and curved his lips into a smile. He didn't know why he had felt the need to compete with a 21 year old wizard for his best friend's sister's attention, but he did know that Lily would never even consider liking someone who was taken. And Teddy probably needed reminding, too. _

"_Actually.. we've split up" _

_Scorpius felt his chest tightening as his cousin spoke, bitterly regretting bringing up the topic in the first place._

"_Vic wanted to move to Paris for awhile to study Muggle fashion. I needed to be here for work… so… we decided to end things. To be honest we'd been having problems anyway"_

_Scorpius cursed himself as Lily's hazel eyes began to take on a look of sympathy. If there was one thing Scorpius knew about Lily, it was that she was a real softie deep down. He was supposed to be the one she cheered up. Not Theodore Remus Lupin!_

_And then James Sirius Potter had brought up the brilliant idea of Teddy moving in with them for a couple of weeks. Teddy had tried to protest, saying he had his own apartment in Diagon Alley, but when Lily turned to look at him with her trademark pleading eyes, Scorpius knew it was a lost cause. Not even Professor McGonagall could resist Lily when she blinked up at her like that. _

So now Scorpius was glaring at his pillow in Albus' room, trying not to think of the fact that Teddy Lupin was probably happily setting up camp in the room the Potters' spare room right about then. Because Teddy was too special to have to share.

'Mate, if you stare at that pillow any longer, you're going to have someone from the department of accidental magic showing up. Your dad would _love_ that'

Scorpius managed a half smile as Albus Potter plonked himself on a cot next to the bed.

"Don't you worry about her being so close to him?"

Albus had raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to laugh or be suspicious of his friend.

'Why would I? He's been looking after her since she was born. She even made him promise to marry her when she was six'

Albus couldn't control his chortle as he took in his friend's expression. Scorpius was clearly lit – Albus was going to have to do some damage control, or he'd be out one godbrother.

'He started dating Vic before we started first year, though. He hasn't been around as much since, and we've been at school'

Scorpius relaxed slightly. Teddy definitely wouldn't get a chance to spend too much time with Lily Potter while she was at school, and she still had three years to go. He'd probably be married with kids by the time she graduated. She was much better off with someone closer to her own age, who would be in school with her for most of her school years. Maybe someone just a year older, who could look out for her….

Albus frowned at his friend. "Scorp… is there something you want to tell me?"

Gulping, Scorpius shook his head and covered himself with his blanket, praying for a dreamless sleep.

Scorpius woke up drenched in sweat. He had just had another very… _interesting_ dream. A dream that scared the crap out of him. Because it involved Lily Potter. He was pretty sure James would use the Cruciatus curse on him if he had known exactly _how_ his sister was featuring in Scorpius' dreams lately. And Albus wouldn't stop him.

He decided to go downstairs and make himself a _cold_ drink. Maybe nick some of Harry's firewhiskey while he was at it- this was an emergency.

As Scorpius made his way to the Potter's liquor cabinet, he noticed a small figure seated by the table, nursing a mug of hot cocoa. The blue haired teen gave him a faint smile of acknowledgement, and gestured for him to sit as she headed to the kitchen to make some for him too.

The blond fifteen year old felt like pulling his hair out in frustration. _Why_ did Lily have to run around in those short boxer shorts and tight looking top? Yes it _was_ a hot night, but didn't she realize Teddy Lupin was in the house. Seeing her dressed like _that_ wasn't helping him expel the images he'd had in his mind lately. Damn hormones.

As she looked turned towards him, blowing gently on his hot chocolate to cool it, Scorpius Malfoy felt a strange sense of contentment flooding his body. She was clearly a hot girl, but she was still the same smart, sweet, loud mouthed, mischievous Lils he had known for most of his time at Hogwarts thus far. He admired her… physique but more than that he admired her eyes and her smile. And her red gold hair, although she did look beautiful with the messy blue plait down her back too. Without thinking, he reached out and curled a lock with his finger, gently tucking it behind her ear.

She looked at the boy in front of her, mixed emotions filling her hazel eyes. Letting out a soft sigh, she finally spoke.

'Why'd you do it, Score?'

"I just didn't want you to go, Lils" he paused, wondering if he could tell her the whole truth. That he had been jealous. "I was looking forward to spending time with you this summer, and I was just being selfish." He sighed. "Gryffindor my ass" he thought sourly to himself as he continued, "I'm sorry, Lils"

Seeing the genuinely heartbroken expression on his face, Lily sighed again. He really was a git, but at least he was a contrite one. Leaning forward, she gave him a friendly peck on the cheek, the same one she'd given him four years before. Blushing slightly, she looked at him with a tentative smile, noticing his finger automatically moving to touch his cheek, a dazed smile on his lips.

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

'It means ask me again when my hair's not blue'

With a twitch of her nose and an exaggerated sniff, Lily Potter headed up the stairs to her room, leaving Scorpius Malfoy sitting at the table in her dining room with a rueful smile and his hand still on his cheek.

AN: If you like this PLEASE review… this chap excites me


	9. Chapter 9

The first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year was usually eagerly anticipated by the older Hogwarts students. Most of the students in Scorpius' year had lined up their dates the minute the announcement was up on the respective common room notice boards. Albus Potter had asked Hannah Longbottom even before then; as the new Gryffindor prefect, he had known about the Hogsmeade weekend dates before they were posted.

Scorpius Malfoy, however, was in a foul mood. He slammed his butterbeer on the table as his date, a random Hufflepuff fifth year looked at him in fright. She didn't understand why he was in such a bad mood, she'd only pointed out his good friends, Lily Potter and Lysander Scamander entering the Three Broomsticks, and asked if he wanted to go over to say hello.

Scorpius blamed his parents. If they hadn't passed down those cowardly Malfoy genes , he would probably have asked Lily himself. He blamed his grandfather, too. If Lucius hadn't given him that long, cold lecture about consorting with blood traitors and how the Potters were always going to despise the Malfoys just before he returned to Hogwarts at the end of the summer, Scorpius may have been able to summon some of his (supposed) Gryffindor courage and asked her out, probably on their first day back at Hogwarts. Most of all, Scorpius blamed James. If he hadn't made Scorpius feel so damn guilty the day after they started school, Scorpius would not be sitting across from a girl he didn't even know, while Lily Potter seemed alarmingly _cozy_ with that Scamander twin.

_Flashback:_

_Albus had just returned from his prefect's meeting, excitedly talking about an upcoming Hogsmeade weekend not yet announced to the student population. Albus had wanted to ask Hannah Longbottom before the other boys found out about the weekend and asked her first. Scorpius had scoffed at this – Hannah Longbottom had been interested in Albus Potter since her first year at Hogwarts, even Scorpius knew that. And Merlin knew Scorpius was dense when it came to girls. _

'_So… are you planning on asking anyone special?' _

_Scorpius had gulped. Albus had an unreadable expression on his face as he spoke, almost as if he was trying to get Scorpius to tell him something. Scorpius took a deep breath. Albus was his best friend. He deserved to know that his best friend was interested in his sister. He was about to speak when he was interrupted by the loud voice of James Sirius Potter._

"_Oi, Scorpius… do you have a minute?"_

_Curious, Scorpius and Albus had looked up at James who appeared uncharacteristically nervous. After shooing away the remaining fifth years at the table, James had sat down across from his brother and the friend he had come to almost see as a brother in the past five years._

"_Mate… I just thought I needed to tell you… I want to ask Lila Wood to the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year"_

_Albus had widened his eyes at this, and the two fifth years had to bite their lips to keep themselves from laughing._

"_Dude… say something… anything"_

'_Why?' Scorpius only trusted himself with single word responses. Merlin knew James Potter had a temper, and didn't take well to people laughing at him._

"_I… just like her. She's good looking, and we have a lot in common. She's the only girl I know who practically breathes quidditch"_

'_Ain't that the truth' Scorpius had muttered, causing Albus to choke on his pumpkin juice. Thankfully, James seemed too nervous to notice the younger boys' obvious amusement – he wouldn't have been happy with anyone making fun of the girl he liked._

'_Ahem… I meant why are you telling me?' Scorpius had managed to calm himself down and was now curious as to why James Potter had suddenly felt the need to get permission from a fifth year before asking a girl out. Maybe he was losing his touch?_

"_Mate… you're a friend. You're more than a friend – you're a fellow marauder. That makes us like brothers. And you don't ask out a mate's ex girlfriend. It's in the code, man."_

'_The code?' Scorpius was now curious. He'd never heard of the code._

"_The bro code. You don't ask out a mate's current girlfriend, crush, sister…."_

And just like that, Lily Potter became off limits. It wasn't so much that Scorpius could be bothered about any _code_ probably made up by James under the influence of firewhiskey, but Scorpius didn't like to think what life at Hogwarts would have been like without Albus Potter – and by extension James Potter and Frank Longbottom. When he had been sorted into Gryffindor, he'd gotten the cold shoulder from the likes of Goyle and company, who had promised to look after him (not that he had minded). The students from other houses, however, had also glared at him in the halls, and some of his older housemates had even pushed his face into the war memorial, hissing for him to look at what his family had done. Once it was known that he was friends with the Potter boys, however, the bullying had miraculously stopped. Scorpius didn't know what had made Albus talk to him on the train to Hogwarts, but he knew that in doing so, he had fundamentally changed Hogwarts for him. Albus was his best friend, and if being best friends with Albus meant ignoring the flip of his stomach every time he saw Lily Potter, Scorpius was willing to make that sacrifice.

Unfortunately, Scorpius hadn't counted on that Scamander twin being less scrupulous about maintaining _his_ friendship with the Potter boys. Scorpius scoffed, what did Lily want with a guy named _Scamander_ anyway? _Lysander Scamander_ no less. He'd probably insist on naming his kids Salamander and Alexander. Scorpius scoffed again. He barely noticed that his Hufflepuff date had walked off in a huff, as he narrowed his eyes at the couple in front of him.

When Lysander leaned closer to Lily, Scorpius found his chest constricting slightly. When he slung his arm around her shoulder casually, Scorpius gripped the handle of his Butterbeer mug, a scowl forming on his face so that even Madam Rosmerta didn't seem to want to approach him. Her life was worth more than one glass. When he leaned forward and give Lily a kiss on the cheek, however, Scorpius Malfoy found himself standing.

"Hey guys, mind if I join you?" Scorpius forced a cheerful note into his voice and willfully ignored the glare from the blond fourteen year old sitting in front of him and focused his grey eyes on Lily. She was slightly flushed, and looking up at him with a mildly curious look.

'What happened to Regina?'

"Regina?"

'Your _date_ Score… do NOT tell me you don't even remember her _name_'

Lily rolled her eyes as Scorpius shrugged slightly. He was more interested in the way her hazel eyes seemed to flash as she scolded him than in this Regina person anyway.

'-and you boys are all the same. Merlin not even remembering a girl's NAME-'

"I'll always remember your name, Lily"

Scorpius wanted to hit the Scamander twin flashing his stupid grin at Lily Potter. Didn't he realize it was rude to interrupt when two people were _having a conversation_?

Scorpius found himself growing angry as the Scamander twin kept trying to butt in whenever he started to talk to Lily about their classes, about his pathetic dating history and about the summer. And he didn't appreciate the snide hints about three being a crowd, either. And he REALLY didn't appreciate the fact that Scamander had inched his chair closer to Lily's and put his arm possessively around her shoulders. Scorpius had to get Lily out of there. She didn't know what fourteen year old boys were like (never mind that Scorpius himself had only just turned fifteen).

"Hey Lils…" Scorpius smirked slightly as he spoke, almost pitying the blond boy sitting across from him. Almost.

"I'm going to head back to train for quidditch tryouts tomorrow. Care to join me?"

Scorpius' lips twisted into an almost malevolent smirk as Scamander frowned and Lily squealed, jumped out of her seat and chattering about how she was _finally_ going to be on the house team, her red gold curls bouncing as she tugged his arm in excitement. Maybe he did have a drop of Malfoy blood in him after all.

AN: A looong chapter to make up for the wait. As usual, you know what to do to motivate me to write faster **hint** **hint**.


	10. Chapter 10

Scorpius Malfoy pounded his fist against the wall of his dorm, frustrated. His best friend looked up from his book, his expression a mixture of pity and… something else. It was almost as if he knew what was wrong.

'Mate… if you want her to talk to you again, you just have to stop hexing her boyfriend. It's simple, really'

"He is NOT her boyfriend" Scorpius was so upset he'd forgotten to pretend he didn't know what his best friend was talking about. His pale face reddened slightly at Albus' quirked eyebrow.

'Why do I feel like I'm talking to James?'

"Maybe James has more sense than you give him credit for" Scorpius groused. "Who goes out with someone named _Scamander_ anyway?"

'You do realize it's your own fault mate….'

"What did I do?"

'If you hadn't _told_ her she was too young to date…'

"She IS!"

Scorpius cringed at the slightly defensive look on his best friend's face. Hannah WAS the same age as Lily after all. But this was different… it was Lily.

"You know what I mean, mate… it's Lily"

'Right, well… you'd better start talking to her again before we play Slytherin this week. James'll kill all three of us if we lose because his chaser and seeker aren't talking'

Scorpius rolled his eyes. Lily's quidditch obsessed older brother was determined to win the quidditch cup in his final year at Hogwarts. He'd been running the team ragged with practices every night after classes. Of course, that did give Scorpius extra time to spend with Lily… and kept her away from that _Salamander_ twin.

Albus Potter was about to continue lecturing his best friend when his face brightened. Approaching their couch in the Gryffindor common room was Hannah Longbottom, leading a sulky looking redhead.

'Hey, Al' Lily Potter turned to her brother, who had moved over to make room for the two girls. She completely ignored the sheepish smile of his blond best friend on her right. Who did he think he was, anyway? Bullying toerag.

_Flashback:_

_Lily was on her way to double Potions. Usually Hannah and/or the twins walked with her, but that morning no one seemed to be around. Being late (as usual, she generally dawdled when it came to Potions anyway. Charmwork was more her forte, like her maternal grandmother), Lily was hurrying to class when she heard a familiar yell from the Great Hall. Scorpius Malfoy was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, a slight smile on his face while Lysander Scamander levitated upside down near the ceiling. Armed with her most lethal scowl, Lily had marched up to her friend._

'_Scorpius Malfoy, you put him down RIGHT NOW!'_

_Scorpius had looked at her and involuntarily swallowed. Lily Potter was scary when she was in kick ass mode, but he couldn't help finding her glare extremely sexy._

"_He started it"_

'_Like hell I did!' the voice from the ceiling was indignant. In any other situation, Scorpius would have pitied the Scamander twin – he was clearly humiliated._

'_Scorpius bloody Malfoy, you put him down right now or I will never speak to you again' Lily's voice had become dangerously low, and her huge hazel eyes were shiny. She couldn't believe that the sweet, slightly shy Scorpius Malfoy that she had met on the platform had turned into this… this bullying git. Catching sight of her expression, Scorpius' smile dropped and he immediately released Lysander, who, after dusting himself off, flew at the taller blond boy._

'_Both of you… stop it' Lily's voice cracked, causing both boys to freeze in mid pummel. If there was one thing neither of them could stand, it was the thought of upsetting Lily._

'_But Lils… you saw what happened… I was minding my own business and he hexed me! It's not like this was the first time, too' Lysander flashed his trademark pleading expression. Lily HAD to understand it was all Malfoy's fault._

"_Kiss up" Scorpius had muttered under his breath. "That's not exactly what happened and you know it" Lily was surprised to see the venom in Scorpius' usually warm grey eyes as he cast a filthy look at his former friend. Sighing, she put her hand on Lysander's shoulder._

'_Xander… I'll see you in class. You… come with me'_

Lily scowled at the memory as she refused to meet Scorpius' eye. Bloody Hannah and her insistence on spending time with Al. Bloody Al for being best friends with such a _git_. Bloody herself for asking Al to look for him on the train. After the _incident_ with Lysander, Scorpius had simply clammed up, refusing to tell Lily the reason he had hexed their friend. All he would keep saying was that Lily was too young to date. Which was _ridiculous_. Hannah and Al were perfectly happy. And Merlin knew she and Lysander weren't seriously dating – they had gone out _once_ to Hogsmeade. They hadn't even snogged yet! Merlin knew she didn't have time for a serious relationship – not with her slave driver brother around. Whenever she asked him what his problem with Xander washe would just say that he had "asked for it". In frustration, Lily had yelled at him and stormed off. They hadn't spoken in two days – a record.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was downright miserable. He knew Lily was mad at him, and as good as she looked when her eyes were flashing, he couldn't take much more of her ignoring him. He had tried contacting her using her grandfather's old mirrors – she had given him one the previous year so they could have late night conversations after lights out, but she would resolutely ignore him. And at quidditch practice, in the common room, at meals, she would always maintain an aura of calm as she chatted with James, Albus, Rose, Hannah… basically everyone but him. The others knew, of course, but they preferred not to get into it with her. Albus knew there was no point, and secretly thought Scorpius deserved to be told off. Merlin, he had thought he and James were interfering, but he didn't quite approve of hexing every boy who asked his sister out. Although it was tempting. Hannah and Rose knew it was useless to interfere. Lily was stubborn. And Merlin knew she had inherited the tempers of both her grandmothers. James, with his mind focused entirely on quidditch, hadn't noticed the tension between his chaser and his star seeker.

Lily could feel her resolve melting as she squirmed under Scorpius' imploring gaze. Even when he'd helped her brothers dye her hair blue in the summer, she couldn't stay angry with him. Not when he seemed so genuinely sorry. He was confusing her, though. She'd never known him to be a bully, and had been pretty disappointed in him. Truth be told, she'd caught him looking at her strangely a few times that year too… and would feel her cheeks burn slightly whenever she caught his gaze.

Scorpius let out a breath when she finally met his eye. Even stubborn Lily couldn't help smiling at his elated grin.

"What say we get out of here, Lils? These two are going to make me sick in a minute"

Glancing over at her brother snuggling with her best friend, Lily let out an involuntary snort of laughter. Taking the outstretched hand in front of her, Lily allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. She'd had a prank idea she wanted to discuss with him before quidditch anyway.

AN: SORRY for the long delay in updating. I've been really busy, and to be honest inspiration had been running a little dry lately. Please r/r !


	11. Chapter 11

Lily sat in the hospital wing, miserable. Madam Pomfrey hadn't the heart to kick her out; the poor girl had been in tears since she arrived shortly after the quidditch game. Her brothers had left after a few hours, and she had told them that the injuries weren't severe, but Lily had been inconsolable. The poor girl seemed to think the accident was all her fault and there was nothing her brothers or her friends could do to convince her otherwise.

Lily Potter stared at the inert blond in front of her, holding his hand as tears trickled softly down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Score… "

Scorpius opened his eyes later that night, confused slightly at his surroundings. He wasn't in his dorm – his bed was missing the familiar scarlet drapery and instead of Mike Finnigan's loud snores, the room was dead silent, with the exception of soft breathing coming from a small figure perched on a chair by his bedside. His left hand was clasped between two small, soft hands.

Scorpius smiled slightly. On one hand, he really didn't like the idea of Lily sleeping in an uncomfortable chair in the hospital wing. On the other, she looked so angelic while she slept, he didn't want to wake her. And he found he liked the feeling of his hand in hers. Almost on an impulse, he leaned forward and ran a finger gently on her cheek, dismayed to feel a slight dampness. He did not like to think of Lily Luna Potter crying.

_Flashback:_

_It was the annual grudge match – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. The Slytherin beaters were being particularly brutal; Albus and Scorpius had had to pull off every feint they knew to avoid being hit by the wayward bludgers. James and Mike Finnigan had been trying to protect their players, but the Crabbe and Goyle in particular were particularly vindictive, shooting curses at the Gryffindor players when they knew Madam Hooch wasn't looking. For two students who were failing practically every class in their year, they were being unusually cunning. Crabbe would distract the referee with the bludger while Goyle muttered some illegal curses. The Potter boys and Scorpius were getting angrier and angrier as the burly Slytherins seemed to get away with attempting to maim their entire team. Albus and Scorpius, in particular, were frustrated. Every attempt at scoring was thwarted by an illegally thrown bludger. Albus had had to fly under the bleachers, dropping the quaffle to avoid getting hit on the head._

_Towards the middle of the game, however, Crabbe and Goyle seemed to start concentrating their efforts on taking down one player – the Gryffindor seeker. And by taking down, they clearly intended to knock her off her broom, sending her to an almost certain death. Tensions high, her brothers were concentrating on scoring (Albus) and protecting the chasers (James). Mike Finnigan was trying hard to do his job, but avoiding some of Goyle's curses made this difficult. Scorpius had watched with white hot rage in his chest as Lily dodged several wayward bludgers. The way the Slytherin beaters cast smarmy apologetic smiles at Madam Hooch after each narrow escape made Scorpius' blood boil – everyone probably thought they were so thick, they didn't know what they were doing. It was getting difficult for Scorpius to concentrate on the game – he had dropped the quaffle twice as he craned his neck, watching Lily. _

_At one point, Scorpius' heart stood still. Lily Potter was speeding towards the bleachers, her head low as she reached out with one hand to catch the snitch. Crabbe, seeing this, had sent a bludger sailing her way while Goyle "distracted" Mike Finnigan. Concentrating on the snitch, Lily didn't seem to be getting out of the way. _

_Without thinking, Scorpius had sped towards her on his Firebolt 2000. All he could remember was pulling up right in front of her before everything went black. _

Lily's eyes fluttered open. She found herself in a strange bed, tucked in tightly. She seemed to be alone, until she saw Scorpius Malfoy sitting up on the bed next to hers, a bandage around his head, smiling at her. Her stomach dropped as she remembered the events of the previous day.

'S-score? Are you OK?'

"I'm fine, Lils it throbs a little but Madam Pomfrey says I'll be back to my old self by noon" Scorpius smiled wryly at the forlorn figure who was now sitting at the foot of his bed, running her hands through her red gold hair nervously.

'Why did you do it?' Lily's voice was quiet.

"B-because… because I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to you…"

'Why not?' Lily's voice was quiet and wobbly. She had replayed the scene of Scorpius getting hit on the head with that bludger over and over that night… the thought of him being hurt had terrified her. More than she was willing to admit.

"B-because…" Scorpius sighed "because you're my best friend, and I don't want anything to happen to you…" Sometimes Scorpius wondered what the sorting hat had been smoking when he was sorted into Gryffindor. He wasn't even brave enough to tell Lily Potter that he had feelings for her. That he even possibly loved her.

Lily looked up at him, an unreadable expression in her hazel eyes, before pulling him into a hug, sobbing softly into his shirt.

'Y-you were so still Score… I thought –'

"It was just a concussion, Lils. Didn't Madam Pomfrey tell you that? Apparently I really do have a thick skull after all" Scorpius joked weakly, his arms wrapped protectively around the crying girl. He was relieved when Lily looked up and whacked him on the forearm.

'JUST a concussion? There you were, lying there and I thought- and you can even-'

"Chill out Lils – I'm fine"

'Promise me you are never taking a bludger to the head for me again'

"I can't promise that.." Scorpius was solemn. He would probably do the same thing ten times over for Lily.

'I swear, Scorpius Malfoy, if you die on me, I'll come right after you and kill you'

"So you'll stalk me into the afterlife?"

'Yes' Lily's expression was fierce, 'so don't you DARE scare me like that again'

"But wouldn't killing me be redundant, because I'd already be dead?"

'It's ok… I would go through the motions just for the satisfaction'

Scorpius shook his head slightly as Lily proceeded to describe the many torturous ways kill him if he had the audacity to "die on her". Lily Potter was something else – but he'd already known that. What he didn't know was why she wasn't letting go of his hand.

AN: What did you think? I know it's been awhile and I'm really really really sorry- real life is a pain sometimes. Anyway I hope you like this chap and please r/r! I like getting reviews


	12. Chapter 12

AN: I am SO sorry for the delay in posting this. I had this all written out a week ago but uploading issues, coupled with school and general summer-ness… Anyway thanks to all who reviewed and sent me messages asking about this story – Knowing people are actually following this/are interested enough to take the time to write to me means SO much! Anyway there isn't going to be much LilyxScorp in this chapter, but I'm trying to flesh out some other characters while setting the stage for later. Enjoy, and r/r!

Draco Malfoy stood staring at the fire. He had managed to calm his hysterical wife down and drag her away from their sleeping son. His wife's tears had done nothing to soothe the wretched Potter girl, who had been apologizing the minute they entered the Hospital Wing. He knew Astoria didn't blame the girl, and she had a few choice words to say to Crabbe and Goyle upon her return. Draco had snickered – he hadn't seen Crabbe that terrified of a girl since their Hogwarts days when Hermione Granger had threatened to transfigure him into a goat for picking on Ron.

He sighed – it was pretty evident to everyone involved _why_ Scorpius had felt the need to hurl himself in the way of a viciously aimed bludger. He didn't blame the boy; he knew what it was like to be young and in love. But _why_ did it have to be the Potter girl? Lucius Malfoy had been furious enough when Draco had insisted on marrying Astoria Greengrass, a Ravenclaw. Lily was a Gryffindor. And the daughter of Harry Potter. Draco just knew there was going to be trouble. And trouble was something Draco had had quite enough of.

Scorpius didn't seem as afraid of his grandfather as he had been before Hogwarts, though. Draco supposed he had those Potter kids to thank for that. He smiled ruefully as he looked into the fire – sometimes he did wonder what his life would have been like if he had let the Sorting Hat sort him where it had wanted.

_Flashback:_

_Draco Malfoy had walked to the end of the Great Hall, swaggering slightly. He hoped no one could see his nervousness – his father had always told him that Malfoys didn't show weakness. Besides it was just an old hat, and it was just going to put him in Slytherin with Crabbe and Goyle, where his parents had been before him and their parents before them. Nothing to worry about. _

_The Hat, however, seemed to have other plans of him._

"_Hmm… definitely not a Hufflepuff. You do have brains, maybe Ravenclaw… "_

"_Slytherin…" Draco had thought with all his might. His father would probably disown him if he was sorted anywhere else._

"_Hmm… you also have a desire to make your family proud of you… very interesting. And you could definitely go either way… Gryffindor would be a good place for you…"_

"_SLYTHERIN" Draco had thought, almost in a panic. Ravenclaw was bad enough, but if he were to get into Gryffindor… there was no telling what his father would do. Lucius had always called it a house of blood traitors. _

"_Are you sure? Gryffindor might help you develop your potential, you would definitely become a great wizard in Gryffindor"_

"_Slytherin… please…" Draco had begged. _

"_Well it is our choices that make us who we are at the end of the day… so better be SLYTHERIN" _

_And Draco had sighed with relief, making his way over to join Crabbe and Goyle at the clapping Slytherin table._

Draco was snapped out of his reverie by his wife's hand on his shoulder.

"Finished putting the fear of Merlin in Crabbe and Goyle?"

'Don't get me started' Astoria Malfoy had huffed, 'How could their sons try to hurt that poor girl? And because of them, our Scorpius is hurt!'

"Scorpius will be fine… it would take more than a bludger to take out my son… although Goyle's boy did seem a little upset about hitting Scorpius"

'He always did have a soft spot for Scorpius.. and he did offer to look out for him in school'

"Speaking of soft spots…" Draco sighed. He knew his wife was probably the only one who would understand his conflicting emotions about his son's interest in the Potter girl. On one hand, his son was in love, and he couldn't begrudge his son that. Draco knew in some ways his wife had been the only one keeping him sane for a few years, when his father had just been released from Azkaban. He didn't want his son to miss out being with someone he truly cared for. But at the same time… Draco didn't want to have to deal with his father's wrath. It had taken years to placate Lucius after Scorpius' sorting.

Astoria Malfoy rested her head on her husband's shoulder, squeezing his hand lightly.

'Think of it this way…. At least she isn't a Weasley'

Lysander Scamander was, meanwhile, doing some thinking of his own in his dorm. His brother had been urging him to meet up with Hugo, Hannah and the others, but he had simply not been in the mood. Even the fact that Lily was going to be with them (a rare occurrence since James had started bearing down on his siblings with Quidditch practices) hadn't been enough to tempt him. Because Lily was, in fact, the one that was plaguing his thoughts.

He knew he'd had a crush on her for almost the entire time he had known her. It was almost impossible not to, really. She had always been a pretty little girl, bounding around including himself and Lorcan in her games, pranks and prattle. She'd been there when James had teased him about a rare crumpled horn snorckack that apparently came into your room when you were asleep and ate your brains. And she was good at _everything_. Well, except maybe potions and divination. And being aware that a bloke was infatuated with her.

It was frustrating. Lysander thought that by asking her to Hogsmeade, she would know how he felt about her – but she seemed to think it was just a friendly date. True, Malfoy had interrupted them before the date really got going…

Which brought him to another topic. Scorpius Malfoy. Hugo, Rose and Hannah had been taking bets on how long it would take before she realized Malfoy had a _thing_ for her. Until they found out that Lysander liked her too, of course.

Lysander sighed. It wasn't fair. When they were younger, Lily had idolized Teddy Lupin, following him around the house, insisting that he was _her_ Teddy and she was _his_ Lily. When Teddy and Victoire got together, Lysander had thought that he would _finally_ become the most important boy in Lily's life. And then Scorpius bloody Malfoy had to stick his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

He had seen Lily talking to the blond boy at the platform years ago, and seen her pulling Albus aside just before he boarded the train. When he got to Hogwarts and saw how close Albus and Scorpius had become, he had a suspicion that it was all Lily's doing. She always did have a soft spot for anyone looking sad or alone. And she seemed to have a knack for finding people who were worried or upset about something and making them feel better almost immediately.

Lysander had tried to be there for her all her years in Hogwarts, when Scorpius hadn't even considered looking at her as more than a friend. He had helped her sneak into the boys dorms to steal Albus' charms book, the Marauder's Map, the invisibility cloak… not to mention that prank on James. Surely that counted for something?

Truth be told, he knew that he was partly to blame for his altercations with Scorpius. He couldn't help but be resentful of the boy who got to spend so much time with Lily over quidditch, and who was making it difficult for him to actually get to be with her. Half the time (only half) Lysander would antagonize him, making snide comments about Scorpius horning in where he wasn't wanted. Scorpius didn't fight fair, though. He had landed himself in the hospital wing trying to protect Lily. While Lysander was truly glad it wasn't Lily who was lying there – how was he supposed to compete with that? He liked to think that he _probably_ would have done the same for her. But those bludgers looked painful… and try as he might, he couldn't guarantee that he would. Unfortunately it now looked as though Lysander would have to be grateful to Scorpius, and he wasn't too pleased about that.

Lysander pressed his lips together, a decision made. The Halloween ball had just been announced. To "thank" Scorpius for saving Lily, he would wait a week before asking her to the ball. If in that time, Scorpius Malfoy acquired some hitherto nonexistent Gryffindor courage and asked Lily to be his date, Lysander would graciously step aside. If, however, he didn't… then Lysander would be free to ask Lily to the ball without a guilty conscience.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time we tried to hurt her? We've got detention until the end of the year! And it's our last year at Hogwarts!" Tom Goyle was frustrated.

"And my mum is _still_ sending me Howlers over it. Apparently Malfoy's mother wasn't happy at all when she called our parents"

'You think? It's all that little Potter's fault, anyway. She just _had _to embarrass us in front of her brother and all her little friends in her first year. It took us all these years for an opportunity to get back at her, and we couldn't even get a scratch on her, your little friend should have gotten out of the way'

"Well there's nothing we can do about it now – we're not going to play them again, and we graduate this year. Besides, it's almost impossible to get her alone without her brothers and Malfoy around anyway" Goyle didn't sound _too_ distressed at the idea of leaving Lily Potter alone. Maybe it had been the sight of Scorpius Malfoy on the ground, covered in blood that had knocked some humanity into him. He was an only child, and had, for a time, looked upon Scorpius as the little brother he never had. Before he came to Hogwarts, got sorted into Gryffindor, and decided he was too good for Goyle, that is.

'We're not going to get another chance when we're _in_ Hogwarts, but when we're out… there will definitely be Hogsmeade weekends. Her oldest brother and Longbottom would have graduated, and the other brother has a girlfriend now. It shouldn't be _too_ hard to get her alone…'

"Wait… I thought we were just going to knock her around a bit…"

'Oh… we're just going to put the fear of Merlin in her that's all… she needs to learn she can't always go crying to Daddy and Jamie and Albie for help'

"I'm… not too sure I'm comfortable with this. When we're out of here, I want to be making a name for myself, concentrating on my job… hurting Harry Potter's daughter will have worse consequences out there than a few detentions" Goyle was starting to be uncomfortable. He'd not minded knocking her about the quidditch pitch a few times – he always played rough anyway and cursing the other team was harmless enough. Crabbe, however, seemed to have something far more sinister in mind.

'We're both going to work for our family businesses – at this point, it doesn't even matter if we pass our NEWTS. Besides, I'm doing this. With or without you' Crabbe's voice had become hard, causing his friend to gulp visibly. He knew if he were involved, he could somehow rein in Crabbe's viciousness, and the girl wouldn't be hurt _too_ badly. It wasn't that he cared what happened to her. It was more that he wasn't sure if Scorpius would be able to cope if anything truly bad happened to the Potter girl.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: This chapter was inspired by the last movie… I took a FEW liberties to make it fit with my message though…I would LOVE it if y'all reviewed and told me what you think

Scorpius Malfoy sat between Lily and Albus, watching as the Hogwarts graduation ceremony for the 7th years began. James Potter and Frank Longbottom were graduating, and pranks notwithstanding, everyone knew they were expected to have aced their NEWTS. The rest of the year had passed in a blur – the Halloween ball had, surprisingly, been a pleasant affair when the _Salamander _twin had waited too long to ask Lily. Scorpius had been gritting his teeth everytime the blond _git _approached her, sending several warning hexes his way when Lily wasn't looking. However, when Scamander eventually _did _ask her, it had been too late. Rose and Frank had been in a fight, and in a fit of solidarity, Lily had insisted that all the girls go dateless to keep her cousin company. Which had infuriated her brother Albus. Scorpius didn't understand why – the way Albus and Hannah had stuck together at the ball they might as well have gone together. Professor Longbottom had even used a separating charm on them during some of the slow dances.

James Sirius Potter, meanwhile, was in high spirits. He was flanked by three pretty girls – a Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. He basked in the adoring gazes lavished on him by most of the female population at Hogwarts – the ones who weren't related to him, of course. Out of the corner of his eye, however, his gaze fell on a pretty, dark skinned girl with dark hair and hazel eyes, sitting at the end of the row. Eloise Zabini.

Eloise Zabini tried to tear her eyes away from the Gryffindor quidditch captain, but couldn't help it. She and James had been friends in their first and second years at Hogwarts, close friends. Despite the rivalry between their houses. Deep down, Eloise knew that she'd had feelings for the cocky, jocular, charming, athletic Gryffindor even then. However, a summer spent traveling with his uncle Ron had led to a dramatic shift in attitude. James had suddenly started to hate all Slytherins with a passion, saying that all dark wizards came from Slytherin and so did all of Voldemort's supporters. Eloise had tried to reason with him that the war had happened years ago, and there were former death eaters in every house but he hadn't listened. She didn't know why he was such good friends with Scorpius Malfoy, the _real_ grandson of a death eater, but she supposed his brother and sister, as well as his being sorted into Gryffindor had something to do with it. James had a real soft spot for his siblings, especially Lily and true Gryffindor pride, to the point of being obnoxious. If only she didn't fancy him so much.

Things between Eloise and James had started to change again in their seventh year, when they worked together at potions projects and NEWT review sessions. However, the actions of Crabbe and Goyle on the quidditch pitch had erased any goodwill that James Potter had been starting to harbor towards her House. Eloise had reamed out her beaters, even suspending them for the game against Ravenclaw (essentially costing Slytherin the cup) but James had insisted that their behavior was typical of Slytherin snakes. He'd been furious with the Slytherin captain, holding her responsible for the actions of her team. Which wasn't fair.

Lily Potter sat between Scorpius and Lysander. She knew her presence between them would probably prevent any serious bloodshed. At least for the duration of the ceremony. She looked around for her parents – they were supposed to be around somewhere. The Hogwarts courtyard seemed more crowded than usual – apparently some parents had heard about the special guest speaker.

Every year, Hogwarts invited a distinguished witch or wizard to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. Previous guests had included Kingsley Shacklebolt, minister for magic and Viktor Krum, quidditch world champion. This year, rumor had it that the speaker was going to be someone extraordinary, who had never spoken in public before. Names were thrown around as the school had buzzed in anticipation, and Lily was bouncing in her seat, excited to find out who this mystery guest was. She shushed Scorpius as Professor McGonagall made her way up the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I understand there has been much anticipation around today's keynote speaker. Indeed, it is a very special day at Hogwarts. For security reasons and at his request, we did not reveal his name ahead of time. We have in attendance today, one of, if not the greatest wizard of our time. A war hero who has been known to use his powers to benefit _all_ magical and non magical beings, one who has had greatness thrust upon him from a young age…"

Lily's heart stood still as the courtyard began to buzz. She knew of only one person who deserved that description. Sensing her shock, Scorpius grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"one of the brightest minds ever to pass through Hogwarts, one of the fastest seekers in Hogwarts history…"

Ripples of excitement began to go through the crowd as students and guests began to realize who the mystery speaker was. Lily's stomach lurched. It wasn't possible. He'd never done anything like this before.

"please join your hands to welcome one of my personal favorite students, Harry James Potter, head Auror, Order of Merlin, First Class"

Lily, Scorpius and the rest of the audience were on their feet, applauding wildly. Lily grinned as her father winked in her direction. Harry Potter _never _gave interviews, _never_ spoke at public events, _never_ let himself be treated any differently because of his fame. Lily and Albus hadn't even _known_ he was a war hero until after James' first semester at Hogwarts, when he came home excitedly bragging of their father's exploits in his History of Magic book. Since then, Lily and Albus had devoured every book they could find on the subject, but their father rarely told them stories of his own experiences in the war, usually talking about the heroics of Uncle Neville, Uncle Ron, Teddy's father, Aunt Hermione and Aunt Luna instead. Lily had always been proud of her father. She'd pestered her mother, her various uncles and aunts for stories about him and the sight of him onstage, being honored by her school was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. She had always been a daddy's girl.

Scorpius held Lily's hand as her father cleared his throat. From the shocked looks on the faces of the Potter/Weasley clan, this was a complete surprise to them. And he wasn't sure how Lily would react to what her father had to say. Truth be told, he also just liked holding her hand.

"Students, parents and friends. I hardly know where to start" despite his obvious discomfiture in the public eye, Harry spoke smoothly and with conviction. "This is an unusual circumstance. Those of you who know me, know how I feel about the public eye"

Lily could see her mother, her uncle Ron and aunt Hermione grin at this. Even Scorpius' father, who was in attendance, had smirked slightly.

"However, recent events on the quidditch pitch" Lily squirmed slightly as Scorpius turned slightly red. Next to them, Lysander seemed to grit his teeth and Crabbe and Goyle, in the front row, cowered slightly under Harry Potter's meaningful gaze "as well as my own personal pride in this years' graduating class" Harry shot a warm smile at his oldest son, "has led me to accept this years' invitation. I know many of you are expecting me to talk about the Second Wizarding War…" the crowd again buzzed with anticipation. This was an opportunity to hear about the war from the boy who lived himself. Mothers were starting to motion to their children to pay attention, as students leaned forward.

"and indeed I will. I won't, however, talk about the events that you can read in any good history book. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hermione Granger-Weasley, for example, have written excellent factual accounts of the war. I am, however, going to talk to you about some experiences that were never recorded in history books. That I had never shared with my friends or family prior to this" Lily was on the edge of her seat, hanging on to her father's every word.

"On the day of the battle of Hogwarts, I had left to meet Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. I knew that I had to die to save my friends, I was terrified to do this, but I left them and made my way to meet Voldemort, alone."

A hush fell over the crowd. Everyone had known of this, of course, but they were waiting to hear what came next.

"Not many know of exactly what had happened inside that forest, with a few exceptions. Rubeus Hagrid was present, as was Narcissa Malfoy."

Scorpius' hand turned cold at the mention of his grandmother's name. He knew what side of that war his grandparents had been on. Even his father, for a time. Whatever Harry was going to say, it would be a reason for his children to hate the Malfoys, like the rest of the wizarding world. Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. She hadn't heard this story from her father, but she knew her family had accepted Scorpius unquestioningly (mostly. Uncle Ron still didn't like him) and her father, in particular, was the last man on earth who would stop Albus and Lily from befriending a boy because of his last name.

"At the forest, Voldemort used the Avada Kedavra curse on me." Tears sprung to Lily's eyes as a ripple of surprise spread to the audience. From her seat, Lily could see the look of pain and shock in her mothers' eyes as Ginny Potter realized how close she had really come to losing Harry all those years ago. "I didn't die immediately, however. I found myself at a place, a crossroads, if you will. With Albus Dumbledore" The crowd tittered again in excitement. Dumbledore's name was synonymous with Merlin's in some circles. "Because I had chosen to die for the ones I loved" Harry cast a smile at his wife and friends "I had a choice. I could choose to move on, be with my family or to come back and fight" Harry paused meaningfully as the audience weighed the decision he had made years ago. Harry Potter had had the opportunity to be with his parents, his godfather… his actual family. And he had given it up. "You all know what decision I made. I returned. I lay on the ground, feigning death, and Voldemort sent one of his death eaters to check if I was alive. The person he sent to check on me was Narcissa Malfoy."

Scorpius paled and gripped Lily's hand tightly. Surely she wouldn't want anything to do with him now. Her beloved father was telling her that his grandmother was a death eater.

"Narcissa knew I was alive. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, asking if Draco was alive"

The crowd buzzed again. Scorpius shot a look of surprise at his father, who appeared pale with shock. His mother was holding his hand and stroking his back comfortingly.

"When I said yes, Narcissa lied to Voldemort, telling his I was dead. This allowed me to be brought back to Hogwarts unharmed. She saved my life in the forest that day"

Tears came to Scorpius' eyes as he realized what Lily's father was doing. He was vindicating the Malfoy family from the cloud of suspicion that had hovered over them since the war.

"Draco Malfoy has, since then, worked with me in the Auror department, helping us to catch many death eaters in hiding and other dark wizards who still subscribe to Voldemort's ideals"

Draco looked similarly choked up at Harry's words. They had been working together for years, and while Harry had always been polite and cordial towards him, he had always assumed that Harry still hated him.

"Why am I telling you the story of the Malfoys now? I simply want to remind you, the graduating class of this fact – love is the strongest, most powerful magic of all. It was my mother's love for me that had weakened Voldemort when I was a baby. It was my love for Ginny and my friends that had protected them from the wrath of Voldemort when I met him in the Forbidden Forest. And it was Narcissa's love for her son that saved my life and enabled me to ultimately defeat Voldemort. Voldemort didn't understand love, but love is far stronger than the hate he preached. Love transcends discrimination over blood status.. " he cast a meaningful glance at Crabbe and Goyle as he spoke "and House prejudices" Harry's gaze rested on his oldest son, who squirmed slightly in his seat.

"Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy were Slytherins. Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed my parents, was a Gryffindor. As the graduating class moves out of Hogwarts and starts their new lives, I would urge them to live their lives seeking to love, rather than hate, and to avoid any and all types of prejudice that may prove barriers to love and friendship. "

Harry was interrupted by a petite pair of arms around him. His daughter had run up the stage and flung her arms around her father, tears of pride streaming down her face. His wife was right behind her, followed by their two sons. The Potter children didn't even flinch (much) as their parents kissed in front of their entire school.

AN: Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! I have a couple of ideas for the next chap but will post it once I know what y'all think of the direction this is taking.


	14. Chapter 14

"_I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt so sexy it hurts" _

Lily Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter were extremely pleased with themselves as James, Frank, Crabbe and Goyle strutted around the Hogwarts courtyard after the ceremony, tap dancing against their will. They hadn't meant for their potion to take effect while James was in the process of chatting up Eloise Zabini but… none of them were complaining. And it didn't look like she minded as she watched James ham it up for her benefit.

"_I'm a model, you know what I mean as I do my little turn on the catwalk.. on the catwalk, yeah on the catwalk… I shake my little tush on the catwalk" _

Crabbe on the other hand, was turning an amusing shade of puce as he involuntarily shook his rather large rear end in front of the graduating class. James, twisting with glee, made a rather loud comment about how the redness of his complexion was a clear testament to Gryffindor superiority. Which of course, caused him to turn even redder.

Goyle, on the other hand, was embarrassed, but looking at Scorpius and Lily laughing couldn't help but be slightly amused at the same time. Scorpius and Lily were clearly capable of ingenuity when they put their heads together – their pranks over the years were a testament to that. And the way they were laughing together – it was clear to almost everyone (except an oblivious and overprotective James) that the chemistry they shared was unique. He just hoped Scorpius did something about it before it was too late.

Draco and Harry were biting back amused smiles as their wives scolded their offspring.

"On their _graduation day_, Scorpius"

'Albus Severus Potter, you and your sister are grounded for the rest of the summer!'

Lily looked up at this, alarmed. Three months of being grounded – when she could be off gallivanting with Rose and Hannah, teasing James about Eloise… especially since it was James' last summer at home before he left to join the Chudley Canons.

Catching his daughter's pleading look, Harry gave her a wink. He would intervene when the children were out of earshot. And when his wife calmed down a bit. Both he and Draco seemed to know that saying anything while their wives were in mid-tirade wasn't the smartest thing to do. It was strange how much they seemed to have in common lately, Harry thought as he exchanged a rueful half smile with his former Slytherin schoolmate. Draco seemed to have the same soft spot for Scorpius that Harry had for his little girl.

Draco, on the other hand, had been observing Lily and Scorpius all evening. From the way they instinctively held hands during Harry's speech to their conspiring grins prior to the execution of the prank Draco found himself being charmed by the obvious connection between his son and the Potter girl. Albus Potter had helped Scorpius somewhat come out of his shell in his first year, but it was clear that it was his sister who was having a serious influence on the man Scorpius was becoming. A man that Draco was proud of.

Lysander Scamander, on the other hand, was watching with narrowed eyes. Ever since the _incident_, as he termed it, Lily seemed to instinctively turn towards Scorpius Malfoy whenever she needed comfort or a partner in crime. Even though _technically_ he and Lily were dating (he used the term technically because they really didn't spend too much time together and hadn't formalized their relationship.. they hadn't even kissed yet although he planned for _that_ to change now that James the slave driver was out of Hogwarts) he knew that Lily felt closer to Scorpius than she did to himself. Despite this knowledge, however, he couldn't close the door on Lily Potter. Maybe he was a masochist, but he couldn't help it.

Scorpius spent most of his sixth year in a funk. In James Potter's absence, the _Salamander _twin seemed to have formalized his relationship with Lily. They spent most of their Hogesmeade trips together, and whenever Scorpius would _ahem_ join them, he would put his arm around her or hold her hand. And Lily wasn't hexing his arm off. Scorpius would still sneer at him whenever Lily's back was turned, and did fire an occasional hex at the blond fifth year. He couldn't help it – the thought of _anyone_ around Lily filled him with cold, hard rage. Salamander often retaliated too – so it wasn't really in anyone's best interest to let Lily know of their _altercations_. Besides, despite the temptation, Scorpius didn't hurt him _too_ badly. Until Lily's birthday, when for some mysterious reason she wouldn't leave her dorm room. And wouldn't respond when he tried to contact her on their two way mirror.

Scorpius and Albus had planned a surprise party in the room of requirement. But the guest of honor wasn't even making an appearance in the common room. Hannah Longbottom and Rose Weasley, too were missing as Albus and Scorpius paced around the common room, occasionally trying Scorpius' mirror. When Hannah Longbottom finally emerged from the girls dormitories, she wore a somber expression and was biting her lip.

'She's not going to come down… you might want to cancel the party'

"But _why_?" Scorpius was shocked. Lily Luna Potter loved birthdays. Every year she would get him an extremely thoughtful gift, and sneak him out of the castle for a "day of fun" on his. That year, as it was his sixteenth, Lily had wheedled permission out of professor McGonagall to throw him a party in Hagrid's hut.

Albus was surprised too. Every year, Lily would be the first to bound out of bed and pester everyone in the house for presents and cake on her birthday. Something in Hannah's expression, however, caused his stomach to constrict with anger. If Lily's absence had anything to do with Lysander, he would pay, childhood friend or not.

'She's… not doing very well'

"What happened?" Scorpius Malfoy's eyes turned stormy. He just _knew_ the Salamander had something to do with this. That was probably why he was missing too, come to think of it.

'He… broke up with her' Hannah's voice was just starting to betray her anger at Lysander Scamander. She knew Albus wasn't anywhere near as protective as James, but he would be _pissed off_ at the thought of anyone hurting his little sister. And Merlin only knew what Scorpius would to do the git.

"On her birthday?" Scorpius' lips tightened into a thin line. On one hand, a part of him was thrilled that Lily and Salamander weren't dating anymore. On the other, the idea of Lily Potter being hurt filled him with righteous indignation. Lily was too good for that git, and _he_ had the nerve to break up with _her_? On her _birthday_?

'He owled her a birthday card' Hannah scowled as Albus Potter narrowed his eyes. Scorpius, on the other hand, had marched out of the common room towards the fifth year boys dorm, a scowl on his face, his wand clutched in a death grip. After a moment's hesitation, Albus followed his friend. This time, Albus not only wouldn't stop his friend from hurting the boy, he would gladly join him.

Lysander, in the meantime, was in his dorm with his brother. Hugo had stormed off in a huff when his friend had told him what he had done, and he knew that his twin was going to be his only ally for awhile. Merlin only knew what Albus and Malfoy were going to do to him, and he counted himself lucky that James Potter was no longer in school. He knew his timing could have been better but he couldn't help it – Lily always seemed to be so happy whenever Scorpius horned in on their dates. She never stopped him, or told him three was a _crowd_. And even when they were alone, Lily would always chatter about her next prank with Scorpius. When Lysander had kissed her for the first time she had responded, but it had seemed as though her heart wasn't quite in it. As much as he liked Lily Potter, he couldn't be in a relationship with someone who clearly wanted someone else. He only hoped he would be allowed to live it down.

AN: SORRY for the short chap! I haven't been in the writing mood lately because… well let's just say the birthday card incident hit a little close to home :P I promise there's going to be a lot more things happening in the next few chapters, you'll see later why I had to get Lily and Lysander together and have them break up.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I'd like to start off by apologizing for the super long update. I hadn't been in a writing mood for awhile due to personal reasons. Today though, I re-read some of the reviews I've gotten for this fic and I was inspired! So this is dedicated to all of my awesome reviewers

"What do you mean she's not back yet" Scorpius' voice was slightly raised as he paced around the Gryffindor common room. Albus, who had been rolling his eyes was starting to look concerned as he glanced at his watch. The last Hogsmeade group had returned to the castle an hour ago. While Lily DID know her way back, it wasn't like her to be so careless. Besides, as a prefect, it had been her turn to herd the last group of third years back to the castle. Lily Potter may have loved pranks, but she took after her namesake when it came to responsibility. Hannah bit her lip, worried, as Rose stared at the door, willing it to open. The little group was wondering when they would have to report her disappearance to Professor Longbottom. Even Lysander, standing off to a side was pale, trying not too look too concerned as he strained to listen to his former friends' conversation.

Scorpius glowered. The salamander had no right to be concerned about Lily after the way he ended things with her last year. His twin had apparently told him that Lily had skipped out on her prefect duty, and he'd been skulking around the common room ever since. Scorpius would have hexed him a couple of times if he hadn't more pressing concerns on his mind.

He knew it was his fault Lily was missing. She'd stormed out of Honeydukes in a huff after their argument, leaving her wand and chocolate behind. Scorpius' stomach twisted with guilt as he cursed his jealousy that had lead to the argument in the first place.

The Gryffindor common room was filled with Hogwarts alumnae as Harry and Ginny Potter, Ron and Hermione Weasley, James Potter, Frank Longbottom, Eloise Zabini and surprisingly, Draco Malfoy apparated in to question the sixth and seventh year students. Lily Potter had been missing for twenty four hours and her family had been contacted. Hagrid had led a search party with Teddy Lupin and George Weasley, combing the grounds and parts of Hogsmeade, while Professor Longbottom tried to get in touch with Aberforth Dumbledore. Rose was holding on to Frank tightly, sobbing into his shoulder as James berated his brother and Scorpius Malfoy, who looked as if they hadn't slept in days.

"Merlin, the minute I leave, she gets hurt. Can't I trust you to look after her for two measly years, Albus?"

Albus Potter looked at the floor. He had been spending most of his Hogsmeade visits alone with Hannah, while Lily hung out with Scorpius. He knew it was unreasonable of James to expect him to keep an eye on Lily at all times, but he couldn't help feeling responsible for her disappearance. Maybe if he'd been there, she wouldn't have stormed off.

'Calm down, Potter' Draco Malfoy spoke up. Like his son, he had a quiet, but commanding presence. 'Where was the girl last seen? And with whom?'

Scorpius hung his head. "She was with me, at Honeydukes". He gulped as James shot a venomous glare in his direction, bracing himself. There was nothing James could do that would make him feel worse than he already did anyway.

"Go on, Scorpius" Harry offered a sympathetic smile to the pale blond seventh year. He was especially worried about his daughter, but he couldn't bring himself to be too hard on the boy he had come to see as another son over the years. Besides, anyone could see that Scorpius had been suffering enough. His usually sleek blond hair was matted, and he looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept since the previous day.

"We… we… were buying chocolate. We had – an argument and she walked off. She left her wand behind" Scorpius stared at the floor. Harry's kindness was making him feel worse. Albus hadn't said much to him since the previous night - he almost wished they would beat him up instead. Merlin knew he deserved it.

'What were you fighting about, anyway?' Ron Weasley's tone was hard. He knew it had been a mistake to allow their children to befriend the son of a Malfoy. He had tried telling Harry and Ginny this, but they had called him prejudiced.

Scorpius sighed. There was no point in hiding anything now, he supposed.

"She'd gotten a letter from Viktor Krum, saying he was going to be visiting Hogwarts with his father in the winter for a quidditch exhibition and asking her to accompany him to the annual Yule ball" Scorpius turned slightly red at the memory. He had been having a perfectly good time with Lily until she had brought up the topic of her Bulgarian pen pal. That comment about how Viktor was clearly after something else had been unnecessary. He saw that now. Unfortunately, Lily had snapped at him and stormed out of Honeydukes. Scorpius had debated going after her, but knowing the Potter temper, he had thought it would be better to let her calm down a little before he groveled. A decision he had been beating himself up over ever since.

James Sirius Potter narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his friend. He had always known Scorpius was protective of Lily but… he glanced at Albus, wondering if Al had noticed his friend's interest in their sister. He glared, and would have said something if Eloise hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him somewhat.

Reading the menacing look in his son's eyes, Harry cleared his throat. Draco stood protectively by his son as the adults discussed splitting up into search parties.

"What do you mean, adults only? Scorpius and I are practically of age!" Albus Potter spoke for what appeared to be the first time in almost twenty four hours.

'Albus Severus Potter I do NOT want to have to worry about anything happening to you too. Stay in the castle. It's bad enough James is going' Ginny Potter's voice usually brooked no argument from her husband and her children. Albus, however, was adamant.

"I'm NOT staying in the castle while Lils is missing" Albus' voice shook with emotion.

"You know we'd only sneak out anyway" Scorpius spoke quietly as his father quirked a pale eyebrow at him. It seemed his son knew more about the secrets of Hogwarts than he did.

Harry looked at his son. Everyday Albus reminded him more of himself at seventeen. Casting a small smile at Ron and Hermione, he sighed. "Stay together and take the two way mirrors. I'll hold on to one, Albus, you take the other. Rose and Hannah will stay at Hogwarts and contact us if they hear anything."

'I'd like to come too' A soft, defiant voice spoke up from the back of the room.

Scorpius and Albus glared at the blond teenager behind them. Again, Eloise had to hold James back. He had been itching to punch Scamander's lights out since he received Albus' owl on Lily's last birthday. Even the graphic description of the beating he had received at the hands of Albus and Scorpius hadn't placated him. Draco gripped his son's shoulder. Now was not the time for Scorpius to be starting any fights.

'He can come with us' Ron Weasley's comment earned him a death glare from his sister. He couldn't help feeling sorry for the boy. He knew what it was like to turn your back on the people you loved out of jealousy and insecurity. Besides, a Scamander was definitely better for his niece than a Malfoy.

Lily shivered in fear, cursing slightly at her impetuous temper that had led her to march out of Honeydukes without her wand. Scorpius' comment had been idiotic, but there had been no need to make such a show of her displeasure. He had been hexing Lysander constantly in the last year. Even though Xander had broken up with her in probably the most humiliating, disrespectful way possible, Lily couldn't hate him. They had been friends too long, and she didn't condone bullying, in any case. She had yelled at Scorpius about it several times, but he seemed to take pleasure in tormenting the boy. She supposed it was her built up frustration that had led her to go for a long walk around Hogsmeade, grumbling about impossible boys to anyone who would listen.

She had only been walking a few minutes, however, when a hooded figure appeared in front of her, stunning her. When she came to, she was in a dark room, her hands and feet bound with thick rope. She screamed, but an almost familiar voice cackled, saying that no one would pay attention to her screams where they were. She hadn't eaten all day. Her captor had been in the room twice, tossing some food on the floor, but with her hands tied Lily couldn't get at it. Not that she trusted the food that was being offered to her, anyway. Miserable, she tried to think of a way to escape as she heard the unmistakable crack of someone apparating into the other room.

'I can't believe you actually took her and brought her here' A somewhat familiar voice spoke out in frustration.

"I knew you wouldn't have the balls to do it with me, so I did it myself. What are you going to do, report me?" another voice sneered, causing Lily's heart to constrict slightly.

She heard a sigh as the first voice spoke. 'You know I wouldn't do that. You've had your fun, you've given her a scare, are you going to let her go now?'

"After what she pulled at our graduation? No way. The girl needs to learn some _respect_"

'What else are you going to do to her? You've already scared her enough, Merlin alone knows how long you're going to be in Azkaban if word gets out about this. Harry Potter has half the Aurors searching for her and Malfoy – '

"So that's what this is about, eh? You're here to help your little friend get his girlfriend back"

'You can't keep her here forever…'

"No.. I can't. You know what, though? She has grown up to be quite a pretty little witch. Troublemaker, but a hot one"

'Crabbe –'

Lily gasped as she realized the identity of her captor. Her heart thumped wildly as she heard the door swing open, heavy footsteps plodding in her direction.

AN: Please don't hate me! Reviews will inspire me to write the next chap faster


	16. Chapter 16

comAN: This is going to get a little bit intense.. hence the rating for this fic. :P

Lily froze in terror as Vincent Crabbe's huge figure loomed over.

"So, you've figured out who I am, eh Lilykins? Going to report me to big daddy the moment you get out of here?"

'N-no… I won't tell anyone…' Lily tried to plead. She hated doing it, but she was only now realizing the very real danger she was in. She was without her wand, tied up with no means of escape. And Crabbe was easily three times her size.

"Well, I might as well enjoy myself before I'm hauled off to Azkaban" Crabbe licked his lips and pulled her to him roughly.

'No- I HELP!' Lily screamed, appealing to the other voice she had heard in the next room. She secretly prayed to every deity she knew that the other person was still there.

She was cut off by the disgusting sensation of a pair of lips on hers. Rough hands were clumsily hiking up her skirt and holding on to her blouse as she struggled. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she suddenly heard a voice shouting "Impedimenta" followed by "Stupefy". Crabbe was knocked off of her, and she saw another tall, burly figure leaning over her, as everything went black.

Albus and Scorpius were fruitlessly combing Hogsmeade, barely talking as they searched the darkened streets around the Shrieking Shack. Tense, they combed the area, stopping anyone they saw to ask if they had seen Lily. Scorpius produced a slightly worn muggle photo of her from his wallet.

'When did you take that?' Scorpius' head snapped in the direction of his best friend's voice.

"Over the summer. My mom's old friend, Dennis Creevey taught me how to use a muggle camera when I was younger, I take pictures of her every summer. I guess you and James never noticed"

'I knew you fancied her but I didn't know you were a stalker' Albus snorted, shooting a half smile at his friend. Scorpius gaped for a minute and then sighed.

"It's that obvious?"

'Merlin, Hannah and I were taking bets as to when you would finally crack. I think the only one who couldn't tell was Lily herself. And James of course. He'd have kicked your arse'

"Y-you don't mind, do you?" Scorpius was hesitant. The only reason he had held back from telling Lily how he'd felt was her brother. He knew how much he owed Albus, and didn't want to hurt his friend.

'Mind? Well, maybe I did a little, initially. You know how it is, little sisters' Albus smiled ruefully. 'But anyone could tell you care for her a sight more than _Salamander_, even before the shite he pulled'

Scorpius was silent as he stared at his friend. If Albus was telling the truth, he had _wasted_ the last few years.

'Besides, I figured it made a certain amount of sense. We may not have been best mates if it weren't for her in the first place…'

"W-what?"

'Don't get me wrong – I had nothing against you being a Malfoy and whatnot, but I didn't know who you were. When she came to me on the platform insisting that she had found me my new best mate, I thought she was barmy'

"Wait.. what are you talking about"

'On the platform, before first year. I don't suppose you remember but she talked to you then – said you were a bit of a sad sack' Albus nudged his shocked friend.

"You… KNEW about that?"

'I figured you didn't know it was her' Albus shrugged. 'Anyway, she came up to me insisting that she had found me my new best mate and I had to go looking for a boy with white blond hair on the train. I was… intrigued. You know how she gets when she's excited'

Scorpius was too surprised to reply. His mind whirled as he contemplated his friend's words. _Lily_ had told Albus to look for him on the train. Without his knowing it, Lily had played a bigger role in his Hogwarts experience than he'd realized. Gulping slightly, he turned to look at his best friend, tears filling his eyes for the first time in years.

"Al… we have to find her".

Hours later, Albus and Scorpius were trudging through a forest at the outskirts of Hogsmeade. They were ignoring the repeated messages from Professor Longbottom to return to the castle. Both boys were hungry and sleep deprived, but they were not going to return to the castle without Lily. They knew Harry and James weren't giving up either and were in constant communication over the two way mirrors.

'We used to use these to talk when we had separate detentions… and late at night when we couldn't sleep'

"Bloody twat! I knew you weren't a sleepwalker! That's why we found you in the closet that one night"

'What can I say, I fell asleep' Scorpius shrugged, a ghost of a smile forming as he remembered the several nights when he and Lily would fall asleep in mid conversation. It had happened often over the years, even when Lily was dating Scamander.

"And you didn't know you liked her? Well, the hat was right not to put you in Ravenclaw anyway" Albus snorted at his friend who retaliated with a weak punch.

'Hey if I'd known you were going to be all grown up about it I would have asked her to Hogsmeade at the beginning of fourth'

"Then it'd have been your arse that got kicked by James, instead of Scamander's"

'It'd have been worth it' Scorpius took on a faraway look in his eyes caused his friend to snort.

"Whipped"

'Assuming she would have actually said yes, of course'

Albus snorted. "She's a bit thick when it comes to boys. Merlin knows Scamander had been following her around like a puppy for years. If he hadn't actually said anything she never would have considered fancying him"

Scorpius scoffed 'What did she see in someone named _Scamander_ anyway?'

The boys exchanged rueful smiles as they walked, exhausted.

_**Crunch**_

Albus, who had been walking slightly ahead of his friend, stopped short.

"Did you hear that?"

'What?'

**Crunch**

The boys stood still wands ready as they listened to the sound of heavy footsteps against the forest floor. Hagrid had been presumably searching the Forbidden Forest and Hogwarts grounds. They grew more tense as a tall figure emerged from the shadows. A familiar, man was making his way through the forest, and unconscious sixteen year old slung over his right shoulder. With a ripped school uniform and red gold hair.


	17. Chapter 17

Scorpius Malfoy saw red as Tom Goyle emerged from the woods. Albus had run up to him and grabbed his unconscious sister from their former schoolmate. Throwing his shirt over the unusually silent Lily Potter, Scorpius curled his hand into a fist and punched

"NO… NO… STAY AWAY FROM ME.. NO!" Lily sat up with a jolt, screaming hysterically. Through her tear filled eyes, she noticed her surroundings were different. She was in a soft bed in the hospital wing, instead of the hard wooden floor. The room was well lit, and peering over her were the faces of her mother, brothers, Hannah, Teddy, Xander… and Scorpius Malfoy.

'Lily honey… it's ok, we're here' Harry Potter rushed into the room when he heard his daughter's screams. His voice broke as he held her close and tried to soothe her.

"D-daddy he- he… he took me and he…" Lily broke off into fresh sobs as she cried into her father's shirt. It had been a long time since she had clung to her father like that but she instinctively knew there wasn't really anywhere she'd be safer at the moment.

'L-lils… we got him. He won't confess but we got him. Dad wouldn't let us kill him until you woke up but' James' voice came out in a croak. He had cried like a baby when Albus and Scorpius had brought her bruised body in from Hogsmeade. The Potter boys and Teddy Lupin had been out for blood, but a distraught Harry had ordered them to stay away from Tom Goyle until his daughter woke up. Goyle was blathering about it being a misunderstanding but had remained silent when James had furiously demanded to know who had touched his baby sister. Scorpius Malfoy had gotten the only few punches in. Despite the fact that Goyle was bigger than him, he hadn't fought back when Scorpius hit him.

Scorpius, meanwhile was silent. When he had seen Lily in that state and imagined what must have happened, he had seen red. Despite having a wand at his disposal he had flown at his former friend. He doubted he would have been satisfied even if he had managed to kill the man in front of him with his bare hands.

'Honey, we need to know what happened. We've arrested Goyle, but he says he's innocent and won't tell us anything. His father's lawyer is going to get him out of custody even before he gets to Azkaban if we don't have a case against him. Be my brave little Gryffindor and tell me everything' Harry was bracing himself as he spoke. Based on appearances, he knew that Tom Goyle had more than likely raped his daughter. Madam Pomfrey had laid her to rest and healed her injuries but hadn't done a thorough check while she was unconscious. As a law enforcer, Harry wanted that man in Azkaban. As a man, he had wanted to join his sons in pummeling the life out of him. As a father, he had wanted to shove Goyle's mouth on the face of the nearest Dementor. He knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear, but knew he had to hear it.

"G-goyle" Lily looked up at her father, confused.

"It was Crabbe who took me"

'What?' Albus had been only able to speak in monosyllables since the trio arrived at Hogwarts. The sight of his sister, scratched and bruised had taken something out of him. His first instinct had been to grab her off of the Neanderthal and bring her to safety.

"Crabbe stunned me and carried me to a shack somewhere and locked me in a room. I heard Goyle apparating in later and trying to talk to him. He was trying to get Crabbe to let me go"

James Potter's head jerked towards his sister as his hazel eyes widened. 'What?'

"Goyle came in and saved me when Crabbe was trying to.. to…" Lily broke into fresh sobs as memories of Crabbe's touch flashed before her eyes. Her father held her tighter as Scorpius and her brothers clenched their fists again.

"He k-kissed me and was… pulling on my clothes.. and Goyle stunned him. The last thing I remember was seeing him pick me up before I passed out" Lily had difficulty forming the words, but she knew they needed to be said. Tom Goyle had saved her and she wasn't going to let him go to Azkaban. Although knowing this lot it was a miracle he was still alive.

Hannah Longbottom and Eloise Zabini hugged their boyfriends, sensing the helpless rage in their eyes. Even Albus was seething and Scorpius? He looked like he wanted to punch the nearest wall.

As the Potters took in the information, Draco Malfoy, who had entered the room with his wife shortly before, spoke up.

'Why?'

"W-why?" Lily was confused, and a little shy about talking to Scorpius' father for some reason. She had spent numerous holidays at Malfoy Manor through the years but inexplicably her cheeks burned slightly when facing Draco and Astoria Malfoy recently. Maybe it was the way Draco looked so much like his son, or the fact that the last time she had spent time with Astoria Malfoy, she had been crying over her son who had been injured because of her.

'Why did he do it? If he is anything like his father, he wouldn't have opposed anything his friends said or did, even if he didn't agree with it' Draco's voice was gentle. He knew the girl had been through a lot and Merlin knew what his son was thinking at that point. If anyone had ever tried to hurt Astoria, he knew he would have been out for blood, and Scorpius, despite recent events, was still a Malfoy at heart.

Lily's cheeks burned as she contemplated her answer. "He – he said… it was because… it was because of Scor" her voice was quiet as she stared at the floor, unsure of what to say.

A silence fell over the room as Scorpius' mind whirled. Draco, sensing his son's discomfort, coughed loudly and made a suggestion about heading outside to free Goyle and question him about his friend's whereabouts. Ginny Potter proceeded to shepherd her family (including her mutinous elder son who was torn between his impulse to hunt Crabbe down and murder him and his impulse to pummel his former friend). She had inherited her mother's ability to instill fear in the hearts of Weasley (and by extension Potter and Lupin) men. Scorpius was left standing in the back of the room, kicking at a nonexistent pebble as Lily Potter stared at him.

AN: PLEASE don't hate me for this… It's a nice quick update, which y'all like, right? Let me know what you think of this chapter – I didn't have the heart to have anything REALLY bad happen to Lily, even though it would have upped the drama factor . :P


	18. Chapter 18

'Lils… I' Scorpius didn't quite know what to say. The way Lily was looking at him; her eyes were like liquid gold as unshed tears filled them. In a quick movement, he was by her bedside holding her as she sobbed into his shoulder. His own eyes were growing moist as the fear of the past twenty four odd hours flashed through his mind. The thought of losing Lily Potter had scared him more than anything ever had, and holding her now, he knew he wasn't going to let her go again.

'I'm so sorry, Lils' his voice broke as he buried his face in her hair. At that point he wasn't even thinking about whether what he was doing was appropriate, or whether James was outside waiting to kill him (he probably was).

Lily pulled back and looked him in the eye, a determined look surfacing underneath her tears. "Scor… it was NOT your fault"

'I should have come after you'

"I was the twat who ran off without her wand"

'I was the idiot who let you go'

They stared at each other with watery smiles. Both teenagers had a stubborn streak a mile long. They were silent for a moment before speaking at the same time.

"Lils-"

'Scor-'

They looked at each other again and laughed. It was ironic that they had never run out of things to say to each other in six years, and were being so awkward now. After a few moments, Lily spoke up.

"Why did Goyle say he couldn't let anything happen to me because of you?"

Scorpius sighed. There was really nothing holding him back from asking her out now, but he didn't want her saying yes to him out of pity or because she was in an emotionally vulnerable state. If he was being honest, he was also afraid she would say no. Scorpius was a normal, red blooded wizard who was afraid of rejection. He also knew, however, he couldn't really not tell her how he felt about her. Not after he came so close to losing her.

'I don't know… I guess he- he.. we used to play together as children. I didn't like some of the things he said and the way he and Crabbe behaved so I stopped socializing with him when I got to Hogwarts but.. I really don't know. I guess he knew how much you meant to me.'

Lily looked at him. For some reason, his words left her slightly disappointed. 'Oh…'

On impulse, Scorpius grabbed her hand.

'Lils… when I thought I was going to lose you… I just…' tears formed in his eyes again. The last day or so had been hell. For both of them.

Lily Potter pulled the boy in front of her in a hug, rubbing his back. "You're not getting rid of me that easily"

The teenagers in the room didn't notice the pair of extendable ears that had wriggled their way under the door.

"They aren't saying anything – they aren't _snogging_ are they? I should go in there and make sure!" James Sirius Potter was on the verge of breaking down the door. He had been berating his brother for the past fifteen minutes for not telling him of Scorpius' feelings for their baby sister.

'Merlin James, it's not like he told ME. Besides it was fairly obvious – even Hugo could tell'

"Hey!" Hugo Weasley, along with his sister and Lorcan Scamander had entered the room in the middle of James' ranting. Lorcan moved quickly to stand by his twin, who looked like he was going to be sick.

'Everyone knew he doesn't just _like_ her, James. Besides, Dumbledore knows I would kill him myself if he hurt her. Like some people' Albus cast a filthy look at Lysander Scamander. He knew his sister had forgiven the boy, and knew that somewhere down the road he would forgive him too, but for the moment he was still indignant. No one hurt his little sister.

"But- but… he's a Malfoy"

'And?' Eloise Zabini stepped forward, a challenging look in her eye.

"And… his grandfather's a death eater!" James protested weakly. He knew his arguments had no merit – Scorpius' grandmother _had_ saved his father's life. And Scorpius' parents were perfectly nice people, if a little aristocratic. The truth was, he knew Scorpius' feelings for Lily were nothing like that of any of the other boys. And it scared him. If Lily started to date Scorpius, James really would be replaced as the number two man in her life (he wasn't naïve enough to think that he outranked their father).

Staring at the set faces of his friends and family, James Sirius Potter finally sighed. "I still get to give him a scare when he comes out"

Clapping his big brother on the shoulder, Albus Potter flashed the famous Potter grin perfected by their grandfather years before. 'You do know if they do start dating we can demand to be around when they tell Uncle Ron.. and Uncle George'

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, in the meanwhile, were questioning Tom Goyle in the next room.

"Admit it you slimy snake. You know where he is! You knew where to find him the last time!" Ron Weasley was getting impatient. What with Malfoys hitting on his niece (he prayed to Merlin she would have the common sense to reject him) and his nephew dating a Slytherin, he was on his last nerve. He was going to have a long talk with Harry at the end of the night about how he and Ginny were raising their kids wrong. Of course, he wouldn't say this in front of Ginny. The last time he had tried to complain about James' choice of girlfriend, he had found himself bat bogey hexed. And that had been just for starters.

'Ron!' Harry could usually wave off his best friend's prejudice, but not when his daughter was concerned. Tom Goyle had saved his daughter and, whatever the reason, Harry knew he owed the young man a debt of gratitude.

"The way you're talking to him, you'd think he was the one who carried off your niece" Draco drawled.

'Why you!' Ron glared at his platinum haired nemesis. He'd always known Malfoy was a sardonic bastard.

'Please..' Harry Potter massaged his temples. Honestly, his teenaged sons were sometimes easier to deal with than these two grown, full fledged aurors.

"Are they always like this?" Tom Goyle was amused. It was interesting to see parents bickering like thirteen year olds. Draco Malfoy had always seemed proud and aloof to him. He had no idea the older man was capable of sarcasm.

"He started it" Ron and Draco were petulant. "I did not!"

'Don't make me call in reinforcements' Harry was biting back his amused smile. He had often had to resort to drastic measures to get Ron and Draco to work together, and there was one that often worked remarkably well.

"What reinforcements?" Goyle was curious. Again, he hadn't seen Draco Malfoy's eyes widen in fear before. And as for Weasley's dad… well. He had looked absolutely terrified at Mr. Potter's knowing smirk.

'Astoria… Hermione…'

Harry and Goyle burst into laughter as the two other men in the room paled and immediately started apologizing and making a big show of being friendly.

"Hmmm… who knew Harry Potter had a sense of humor?"

Sense of humor or not, Harry Potter might not have been too thrilled at the way Scorpius Malfoy was holding on to his little girl in her sick room. There was nothing sexual or even romantic about it, but he was just hanging on for dear life. Pulling back, Lily Luna Potter stared, shocked at the stormy emotion in his tear filled grey eyes.

'Scor… I'm still here. I'm fine'

"But you might not have been, Lils. I'm not letting you out of my sight again"

'Even when I sleep?'

"Even when you sleep. I'll set up camp on my broomstick outside the girls dormitories if I have to"

Lily smiled and settled against his chest. Somehow, she had always felt secure there, even when they were younger.

'You'd sleep on a broomstick?'

"That's what she said"

They laughed at Scorpius' mention of the muggle television show Lily was obsessed with. Every summer, she had insisted that Scorpius sit and watch several episodes of muggle tv with her before they went out gallivanting with her brothers. The tension broken, Scorpius cleared his throat.

"Erm… since I'm never letting you out of my sight again, you'll have to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend" he loosened his collar and smiled weakly at the redhead in front of him.

'Er… ok. We always go to Hogsmeade together anyways' Lily was confused. Maybe the trauma of the last few days was getting to Scorpius.

"And… you'll probably have to go to the Yule Ball with me instead of Viktor…"

'Oh… OH' something clicked in Lily's head as she looked at her blond friend. The way he was looking at her was causing the blood to rush to her cheeks. For some reason, despite the ordeal she had been through, a wave of contentment and exhilaration washed over her.

'Scor… are you… sure?' Lily's voice was trembling. She didn't know why she was so nervous and yet… not. Like she knew this was meant to happen.

Scorpius could barely look into her eyes as he imagined her reaction. He almost wished he hadn't said anything, but he knew he had to plow through.

"Look Lils… I know… you probably don't feel the same way but… there's a reason why I've never been able to give any girl in school my full attention for seven years. It's because none of them are you. Even as a scared little first year boarding the train for the first time – I knew you were something else. After what happened, I just had to tell you how I felt. I like you, Lils."

'You… you _like_ me?'

"Actually no… I don't like you. I… I think I love you"

After a long pause, Scorpius finally dared to look into Lily's eyes. They glowed gold with emotion and unshed tears, the smile lighting up his face calmed him down. His heart beating, he twisted his lips into his trademark Malfoy smirk and nudged the girl in front of him.

"Lily Luna Potter. Are you going to break my heart, or what?"

'What' Lily responded simply, and pulled the boy in front of her into a long kiss.

Outside the room, James was swearing as his girlfriend rolled her eyes at him. Albus Potter sat quietly, unsure of what to make of this new development. All other eyes in the room, however, were turned towards Hugo Weasley, who was digging up a piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Alright… whose got November 20th at 9pm?"

'That would be me" All eyes turned in shock to the blond Scamander twin who had spoken. Drily and almost glumly, he moved to the center of the room and started collecting the galleons that were shoved his way. He half smiled at his brother as he pocketed the large sum of money from the various Weasleys, Longbottoms and other Gryffindors in attendance.

'I lost the girl of my dreams… but at least I made some money off of it'

AN: It's DONE **sob****sob** I'm SO SAD it's finished! Let me know what y'all thought of the ending, and check out my new Lily/Scor fic too – their dynamic is going to be different from this but I'm still excited about it. Haha.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: For some of you that wanted it… an epilogue. Disclaimer though – I never wanted to go into the whole ins and outs of Lily/Scor's relationship. That would be a whole separate fic, and you'd need good plots for them. I might do a few one shot continuations at some point/whenever inspiration hits though – watch this space

_Scorpius Malfoy straightened his tie and swallowed slightly. He had been fussing over his outfit for hours, a fact that his girlfriend hadn't failed to remark upon with a teasing smile. Lily was already dressed and waiting for him as he changed jackets (again). He couldn't help it – tonight was THE night. It was the night he was going to propose to Lily Luna Potter. _

_It was fitting that he chose to do it at the annual Hogwarts alumni reunion. Some people may have found it unromantic, but Hogwarts was where he had met Lily. They had had their share of spats – Scorpius had to walk around with bats flying around his nose for a week once and had even broken up briefly when Scorpius had been stationed in America for his advanced training in curse breaking. That had been the worst year of his life – thoughts of her gallivanting with Lysander plagued his thoughts. His spells had been backfiring all over the place. Then had come the Daily Prophet article with Lily Potter and Jamie Olivander on the front page – Scorpius had apparated to the Potter Manor on the spot, asking her to take him back. Her family was mostly supportive of their relationship. Harry Potter had given him a brief talking to about taking care of his Flower. And his parents seemed to adore her. His mother would even often take her side when they argued. As for her uncles… Lily had insisted they tell both their families at the same time. Ron and George had voiced their objections loudly… only to be silenced by her aunts. Lily had laughingly told him that her uncle Ron in particular had spent several nights on the couch. The fact that Lily wanted to be with him despite the objections of her favorite uncles, however, was huge. It had given him the strength to stand up to Lucius Malfoy and tell him that Lily Potter was the girl he was going to marry. Scorpius thought he saw a glimmer of pride in his father's eyes when he did that, but he could have been imagining things. Now, Lily just had to say yes. _

_After much deliberation he put on his topaz cuff links. Lily had bought them for him with her first Ministry paycheck. And they reminded him of Lily's eyes. He had always joked that they were his lucky cuff links – the last time he'd worn them, he'd gotten a promotion at work. And then gotten REALLY lucky after. He placed a small, square box in his jacket pocket and opened the door to his room, where his girlfriend had been standing – fist raised in mid pound. _

'Is Cinderella finally ready for the ball?' Lily rolled her eyes. Merlin, some boys could be vainer than girls. James, Scorpius and Albus often took forever with their hair – making sure it was gelled just right.

"Well he does have princess charming by his side" Scorpius managed a cheesy grin before dropping a kiss on his girlfriend's lips. Hopefully at the end of the night, she wouldn't be his girlfriend anymore.

At the Great Hall, Lily was slightly ticked off. Scorpius had ditched her the minute they arrived – running to talk to Jake Thomas, who was the deejay for the evening. When he had finally rejoined her, his attention was a million miles away. Twice she had had to snap her fingers in front of his eyes to get him to focus on their conversation.

Albus Potter, however, was watching his friend with some trepidation. He knew what was coming – the nervous twitches, the spacing out… he'd gone through the same thing two years before with Hannah Longbottom. It was hard to think of his baby sister getting married, but he knew there was probably no one who loved her more than Scorpius did. The sod had dragged Albus around Diagon Alley, Muggle London, Paris, even Belguim in search of the perfect ring. And Merlin knew during the year they had broken up, BOTH of them had been making him miserable – Scorpius had mentioned Lily numerous times in every one of his daily letters and Lily had spent days ranting about his best mate. "Besides" Albus mused as he rubbed his wife's stomach fondly "marriage wasn't all bad."

James Sirius Potter, too, knew what was coming. He had briefly toyed with the idea of stealing the ring and replacing it with a prank one – for old times sake. He knew his sister would have a few choice things to say about that though. And deep down, he didn't want to ruin his sister's special moment.

All eyes turned towards Scorpius as the deejay stopped the music.

"Here goes nothing" A quick muttered charm had a light dusting of snow falling from the enchanted ceiling. Scorpius remembered how much Lily loved freshly fallen snow. Gulping, he bent down on one knee as he retrieved a small, square box from his jacket pocket.

"Lily Luna Potter, I've spent most of my life loving you, and I can't even think of spending the rest of it without you." Scorpius took a deep breath, his voice breaking slightly from the emotion. He caught a glimpse of his girlfriend's eyes. They were round with shock, and glowing the same color as his lucky cuff links.

"Will you marry me?"

'NOOOOOOO!'

Hermione Granger-Weasley smacked her husband, while Ginny Potter, next to them, burst into tears. Harry Potter watched, teary himself as his little girl pulled the man up from the floor and kissed him, whispering in his ear, 'That was a yes, by the way.' Rubbing his tearful wife's back, he raised his glass to Draco Malfoy, who was stroking his own crying wife at the other end of the room.


End file.
